My family has been through hell because of me. How and why they all still love me is beyond
my understanding, really. They tell me I have always been a steady
presence when they have had problems, so there is no question that I have earned
the returned favor. I wish I remembered
when I was a steady presence instead of a constant nuisance.
Woot! Thanks for reading!!
Friday, November 15, 2013
Thursday, November 14, 2013
1409 Words
The three of them arrive with a cartoon like
clamor. Annie is stumbly and confused,
Carly loud and frightened, Andy in charge, but clearly not in control.
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
150 Words
"I can tell you he was alive when we put him in the
ambulance.”
(Interesting day...)
(Interesting day...)
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
1586 Words
“This family has done enough hospital time.”
Bruce and Casey are huddled together in the corner of a dismal, gray-walled, surgery waiting room. They have not been able to find Rachel. They only know they are expected to wait in this 4th floor holding area so the doctor will know where to find them when there is news.
(If you're wondering about progress, dear friends - I am just shy of 60K words - 200-250 pages - and the story is winding down. I am 11 days from absolute deadline.)
Bruce and Casey are huddled together in the corner of a dismal, gray-walled, surgery waiting room. They have not been able to find Rachel. They only know they are expected to wait in this 4th floor holding area so the doctor will know where to find them when there is news.
(If you're wondering about progress, dear friends - I am just shy of 60K words - 200-250 pages - and the story is winding down. I am 11 days from absolute deadline.)
Monday, November 11, 2013
2102 Words
It
has been eight days of unmitigated chaos and Bruce is ready for one blessedly
quiet night with a Cuban cigar and a 15 year old bottle of whiskey.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
746 Words
And so, against a wall of protests from the entire
family, Annie had spent the last two nights with Bruce.
(Sunday malaise...guests coming for dinner.)
Saturday, November 9, 2013
1518 Words
Jane sighs and wishes she knew more. When she saw Annie Friday, they had
happily reviewed her green grocery list, compared it carefully to her tan meal
plan, and talked about setting a table, putting on make-up, and smiling through
small moments of confusion.
(Working on Saturday morning is not fun. But I'm on the downhill side of this mountain. Hope to finish the book ahead of schedule!)
Friday, November 8, 2013
1545 Words
The word is there somewhere. I say the word languish, even though I know
it’s not the right one. I hope if I
mumble it, the word will resemble the one I need to say. Let’s call that a compensatory strategy. Andy gets it and says back to me,
“Lettuce?”
Thursday, November 7, 2013
1542 Words
Mornings with Andy are the most difficult. I wake up every day wondering where I am and
who the man is next to me in the bed.
Then I remember to look for notes and I see the one in the frame by my
bed. You
are Married to Andy and He Loves You.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
2225 Words
Andy can’t contain a loud gush of laughter, which is
the perfect antidote for the circle of concern that has grown concentrically
from Annie and Bruce all the way to the rangy looking family who just piled out
of a 1970 VW van to watch this pitiful show.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
1935 Words
Jake and Carly spent another two hours unpacking and
repacking boxes before they found the faded red and yellow Ohio Star quilt
that, according to their mother, had been Aunt Min’s death bed project. “I wonder if mom remembers how ugly this
thing is,” Carly said, shaking spiders and dust from the folds.
Monday, November 4, 2013
1582 Words
Eventually, Annie chipped through the edge of
awkwardness that squeezed them all and said, “I’d rather be telling you
I’m dying of cancer than telling you your dad and I are splitting up – but we
are. We’re getting a divorce.” It was a typically convoluted stacking of
emotional phrases from their mother’s mouth, and both Jake and Carly sat stunned and silent while they processed “dying of cancer” in the same sentence with “divorce”.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
1513 Words
I realize I am
over-dramatically flinging my hands around my head as I say “all of this” so I
very intentionally return my flailing appendages to my side and take a deep
breath.
Saturday, November 2, 2013
1607 Words
They stopped for tea and scones at a beach front café after leaving the fateful turn in the road that day. Annie loved afternoon tea. It made her feel refined and relaxed in the
days before the accident, and she seemed to fall into the familiarity of the
ritual that day.
Friday, November 1, 2013
1547 Words
The ill-defined gloominess of the weather matches
Bruce’s mood perfectly. Like Bruce, it seems Mother Nature is brooding in a negative
leaning way. The skies are overcast, but
the clouds aren’t threatening rain – just malaise with a chance of angst.
(Daily goal update: I now have 3 weeks, aka 21 days, to finish this novel. To that end, I absolutely must keep a commitment to write at least 1500 words EVERY day for 21 days...unless the story ends sooner. :-) I have 41,667 words now, which = 138 pages. No days off until finished. Woot!)
(Daily goal update: I now have 3 weeks, aka 21 days, to finish this novel. To that end, I absolutely must keep a commitment to write at least 1500 words EVERY day for 21 days...unless the story ends sooner. :-) I have 41,667 words now, which = 138 pages. No days off until finished. Woot!)
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