Tag Archives: RemembeRED

Crash

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Write on Edge: RemembeRED

Today we’re trying a little something different. Are you ready? Your word is below. Take the next ten minutes to write about the first single memory that word calls up. Focus on the emotions and the experience, spend ten minutes really exploring that memory. Then wrap it up, publish, and come back to link up.

Write on Edge - Crash

Winter…. January 31st to be exact. Just after 6pm and it was dark outside.

I took a back road for some reason… must have thought that it would have been quicker or something.

It had been snowing like it always does at that time of year in Michigan. Most of the roads were clear except for a few random drifts that happened to fill the roads where the fields were open.

The drifts never worried me much because I drove a four wheel drive Expedition. It plowed through drifts easily… like a knife through butter. Smooth and easy.

I was confident and sure that I was safe from the travesties that others experienced with their little cars.

Excitement was building as I drove on to meet up with some high school girl friends for a night out. I hadn’t seen them in a long time and was really looking forward to it. I never made it.

I came up over the hill and on the downside were drifts. Nothing special… until I drove through it. The drift caught my tire just right and I felt it pull my truck off to the right while I tried to get control of the truck. Fear raced through my body like nothing I had ever felt before. Before I knew it I was in the ditch and the truck tipped.

I was rolling…. I let go of the steering wheel and covered my head, it was an instinct. It wasn’t going to save me though. I kept rolling from side to side. Metal crunching, glass shattering, and my body being banged around the truck even though I had my seat belt on.

Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime it stopped. Windows were gone… the windshield was smashed but in tact, the roof was caved in. I did a mental check of myself…. I was fine. I survived.

Adrenaline was running high as I sat there trying to stop shaking. I fumbled around looking for my cell phone to call 911.

Fear still had it’s grip on me as I dialed several times… my hands were shaking so bad that I could barely dial. Finally I got it.  Help was in it’s way.

I missed my night out with friends and had to walk through almost knee deep snow in my brand new purple heels.

I am much more conscious about how I drive, the weather, and road conditions. I worry more than is necessary and I’m driving another truck.

Note: I followed the rules and wrote for 10 minutes and hit publish… this is not edited at all. So please be kind… the grammar and punctuation probably sucks.

Amazed

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Your assignment this week is based on rhythm, which you can use to help entertain and engage your readers.

Let’s make it more literal.

Write about a time that rhythm, or a lack thereof, played a role in your life. And don’t use the word “rhythm.”

Maybe it’s a time that you danced to a special song. Maybe it’s a period of your life during which the days were marked by a distinct pattern. Or maybe it’s a time that you couldn’t catch your breath because life just kept coming at your randomly.

It’s up to you

It was May 2007 on a sunny Saturday afternoon when we said I do. I walked down the aisle with my dress swishing back and forth with each step I took. Slow and steady to the sound of classical music drifting through the sanctuary.

Smiles on our faces as we looked at one another. Swish, step, swish, step until we were arm in arm.

Every time our eyes meet
This feeling inside me
Is almost more than I can take

Words were spoken to one another.

Verses were read by the pastor.

Vows were made in front of our family and friends.

Rings were exchanged. A special ring…. one my grandmother wore.

Baby, when you touch me
I can feel how much you love me
And it just blows me away

A kiss and a smile between us.

Applause and smile from family.

I’ve never been this close to anyone or anything
I can hear your thoughts, I can see your dreams

Our lives changed and all for the better.

More smiles, hugs, and kisses but from everyone.

Two families merged into one.

I don’t know how you do what you do
I’m so in love with you
It just keeps getting better

Pictures! Lots and lots of pictures.

The poses, the smiles, the click of the camera over and over.

Finally, the perfect pictures were taken.

I wanna spend the rest of my life
With you by my side
Forever and ever

We breathed a sigh of relief as we stepped away from the crowd.

A brief moment alone.

Every little thing that you do
Baby, I’m amazed by you

Again my dress swished back and forth as I walked down the hallway to the office.

Documents signed as the pen moved across the paper again and again.

It was official.

The smell of your skin
The taste of your kiss
The way you whisper in the dark

A final moment before we left the building.

Your hair all around me
Baby, you surround me
You touch every place in my heart

More smiles and laughter.

Balloons floating in the air as we released them together.

Oh, it feels like the first time every time
I wanna spend the whole night in your eyes

The camera clicking as it captured the moment in time.

I don’t know how you do what you do
I’m so in love with you
It just keeps getting better

Finally, a moment alone. In the car.

We reflect on day thus far…

Moment by moment with hands entwined.

I wanna spend the rest of my life
With you by my side
Forever and ever

Lined up.

Two by two.

Waiting for our cue to enter.

Every little thing that you do
Baby, I’m amazed by you

Glasses clink.

A kiss.

People cheer.

Every little thing that you do
I’m so in love with you
It just keeps getting better

It’s our song. The one we chose or was chosen for us by fate.

The song he played for me time and again.

I wanna spend the rest of my life
With you by my side
Forever and ever

Together as husband and wife we floated across the floor.

My dress swishing back and forth again with each dance step.

Every little thing that you do
Oh, every little thing that you do
Baby, I’m amazed by you

Life as a family begins.

Wedding Pic... on the bridge

A Class Trip: Greenfield Village

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School trips. We all go on them. What trip do you remember the most? Where did you go? Who was with you? How did you get there? Have you ever been back?
Write a memoir post about a memorable school trip. Word limit is 600.

I think it was 4th or 5th grade, I really don’t remember the grade for sure but I don’t think it matters. What matters is the trip. My class was planning an overnight trip to Greenfield Village. Overnight? Yes, they have dorms that you can stay in (or they used to).

We had a fundraiser to help with the cost of the trip. Since at the time we lived in a pretty rural area and our neighbors weren’t all that close to us so there was a lot of walking and bike riding so I could sell all those packages of M&M’s.

For a week or more I would trek down the dirt roads asking everybody who was home if they would want to buy my candy after I explained the trip. It didn’t take long before I had sold my entire box of candy and I had enough to go on the trip. I was so excited to be going away for the night with all of my friends.

Soon the day of our trip came and we all met at the school with our bags, pillows, and sleeping bags. You could almost taste the excitement in the air! All those kids gathering to go away overnight to a place many of us had never been to.

After what seemed like an endless bus ride we arrived we were taken to the dorms, girls in theirs and the boys in theirs. The rooms were large and lines with bunk beds that we quickly moved towards so we could claim the ones we wanted with our best friends. We rolled out our sleeping bags, put our pillows in place, and were ready for the next adventure.

The series of events next are in no particular order because the order isn’t what I remember…. it’s the fun things we did.

Swimming! What kid doesn’t love to go swimming? Especially when they don’t have a pool or live near a lake. And an indoor pool… even better! I believe it was after a quick tour of the dorm that we went back and got into our swimsuits so we could go to the pool. Mine was a one piece purple suit and I remember this because I loved that suit and with purple being one of my favorite colors it’s stuck with me.

The pool was a huge indoor pool, or to me at a young age it was huge. We swam for a while before heading back to change and get ready for dinner in the cafeteria.

It was a great few days for me and my classmates. The village, the pool, dorms, and staying away from our families overnight.

I haven’t stayed overnight there since that one time and I don’t even know if that option is still available for schools, but I’ve been back to Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum many times. Class trips with my two oldest girls and a couple of times just with my family.

Regardless of how you visit it’s worth the trip. Fun and education all rolled into one place.

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.