Tag Archives: Red Dress Writing Club

Alone

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Som e of us show it easily, hugging relatives each time we meet. Wrapping our arms around friends.

Some of us are more reserved, rarely touching other people.

And then a few of us hang out somewhere in the middle. Hugging our children, but limiting our affection to handshakes with others.

This week we would like you to write about how the show of affection has played a part in your memory.

Choose a time when either the abundance or lack of affection (either by you or someone else) stands out, and show us. Bring us to that time. Help us feel what you felt.

It was a cold day in early December and the snow wasn’t slowing down at all and where we lived that meant that if the plow trucks couldn’t keep up that they would just stop until the snow quit falling.

With this in mind the decision to stay was made. It was to risky to drive home and then have to turn around within 45 minutes at the earliest and go back.

Babies are unpredictable and you never know when they will make their grand entrance into this great, wide world.

My midwife assured me that everything would be fine and we decided to induce labor since I was already in the early stages and the baby was ready to be welcomed into the world.

I made all the phone calls to my family to let them know that their first grandchild would soon be born. But my words were heard by nobody. The answering machine took my message and would relay it to them.

The evening was passing and the my labor was progressing quickly…. to quickly for me and it hurt like hell.

I was alone. Well mostly alone. My boyfriend was there (not much help) and his mother (more helpful) was there too and my labor was hard & I hadn’t gotten that breathing thing down very well since I never finished my childbirth classes. I think that if it weren’t for her I wouldn’t have done very well.

I wanted to sleep so badly. Rest. That is what I wanted most of all next to seeing my beautiful baby.

Just after 1am I welcomed my first child into this world on a chilly December morning. She was the most beautiful & healthy baby I had ever seen.

Sleep came and all too soon the new day was upon us and I was snuggling with my baby in bed. Holding her close to me was the most wonderful feeling and one that can never be replaced. Even by another child as each child is special and unique in their own way.

Holding your baby is the most amazing feeling. Warm. Comforting. Safe. Love. Pure love. There are so many words to explain the feeling and at the same time it’s indescribable.

But I was still alone. Yes, my boyfriend and his family was still there with me to share in my joy and to marvel at the new life we all took turns holding in our arms. But my mom, my dad, my step mom, brother, sister… not there.

My family wasn’t there to hold & cuddle that pretty baby girl. They weren’t there to hug me. They weren’t there to congratulate me on a job well done and tell me how proud they were.

This left an empty feeling in me…. a hole in my heart. I wanted my family to be there with me for that special moment. A moment in our lives that can never be relived.

 

Yahtzee!!

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This week, we want you to recall the games you played when you were young.
Did you love Monopoly, Yahtzee, or Uno? Or did you prefer backgammon, Trouble, or Scrabble?
Write a piece that explores one of your memories.

I’ve been missing for a while from TRDC prompts and really have no reason why, but I’m jumping back in today.

Many years ago when I was just a little girl my family and I used to take long weekends and go up north to St. Helen, Michigan to visit my grandparents on my moms side. I loved going up there for so many reasons, but most of all I got to spend some time with my grandparents and usually got away with a lot more than if I were at home.

Every evening after dinner (often polenta, sausage, and a marinara sauce) I would take a bath and use the Irish Spring soap, the traditional green and white marbled bar. Even today the smell brings back all sorts of fond memories of my grandparents house and the times that I spent with them. After my bath my grandma would french braid my hair into two long and really tight braids on either side of my head. I’m amazed at how tight she was able to get them! Seriously… sometimes it hurt. But I endured it because I loved the way they looked so much and my mom couldn’t braid.

Yahtzee

Image via Wikipedia

Once all of us kids were in bed the adults would all gather in the kitchen with their snacks and wine to play Yahtzee.

They would all take their seats at the table, passing out the score sheets, pencils, and gathering the cup and dice at first. And this is when the fun started. They’d shake the cup letting the dice rattle around a few times before letting them roll out of the cup and on to the table all in hopes of getting that elusive Yahtzee. Again and again the dice would be tossed into the cup, rattle around, and then fall onto the table.

So many times I would get up and tell them that I couldn’t sleep because of the dice, but really I just wanted to watch or even to play with them. Of course I was always sent back to bed where I would lay and listen to the fun.

As the night progressed they would laugh, talk, and carry on. Always having a great time and yelling out “Yahtzee!!” in a gleeful manner when someone managed to get the five dice to all have the same number showing. They would play well into the night it seemed or probably something closer to 10 or 11pm.

During the day my grandma would pull out that old Yahtzee box and play with us kids. I remember the box, it was worn very much use throughout the years and held shut by a single rubber band. We would have so much fun playing with my grandma.

As I think back of all the times that they played I can still hear the sound of the dice rattling and my mom laughing. Looking back things were much simpler then.

I remember this so well and it’s such a fond memory that even today my sister and I love to play it when we get together.

High School Jealousy

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She went to school everyday but before she left she was up early to get ready. There was hair to curl & spray, make up to be put on, and the perfect outfit to be selected. Why? Because it was high school and no matter who you were you were judged.

Judged on the way you looked, the clothes you wore, the friends you hung out with, the activities you were involved in at school as well outside of school, the way you walk, talked, and carried yourself. There was nothing that was untouchable when it came to being judged in high school

How could she not be jealous of some of the other girls? How could she not want the long pretty straight hair, perfect skin, name brand clothes, been friends with the same people since the 1st grade, be as smart, or as athletic.

She wanted it. She wanted more. She wanted to be just like them.

But she had the friends, the right friends. The friends who were in the “popular” crowd. She was invited to the same parties as all the others, went to all the football games with the “in” crowd, and all the dances but she still felt like there was something missing.

What she didn’t know ore realize was that she was pretty too, had nice clothes, a car, the right friends, good grades, and more. What she didn’t see was that she had nothing to be jealous about.

What she didn’t see was that some of the others were jealous of her. And in her mind thoughts like that were ludicrous. Why would they be jealous of her? Why, when they already had everything and then some.

Many years passed and life carried on for everyone. Friendships faded and she soon realized many of them weren’t true friends. She learned that she really had no reason to be jealous. She learned to be happy with what she had and that what she had was enough.

And through modern technology she was able to reconnect with some of those friends. She was able to realize that their lives aren’t much different from hers now and that they’re really all the same.

What she realized was there is no reason to be jealous. Just be yourself and you’ll be happy.

red writing hood