October 31: Writing Prompt #304-Halloweeny!

If bloggers had their own Halloween and could go from blog to blog collecting “treats,” what would your blog hand out?

Blessings!! Within reason, of course. I can’t bless anyone with a million dollars, but I can bless you with a homemade dinner, a compliment, an encouraging word or two, a treat (instead of a trick), a babysitter for a night, help with an errand, a dog walker or dog sitter, an exercise partner, someone to edit a resume or class paper, a reference, a listening ear, a friend, a prayer, and many other things I don’t even realize might be a blessing until you suggest it. How fun would that be though to open up my blog for a night, asking people to stop by for a blessing. I would love to have the opportunity to be there for others in this way by just asking, “What could I do to bless you today?” 

Go ahead, try it out! Let me know what I can do to bless you, and I’ll do more than my best to provide you with that blessing.  Hey, it’s November tomorrow and Thanksgiving soon, so let’s start it off with not just being thankful for what we already have, but doing what we can to provide others with something to be thankful for too.  Okay, I’m ready for your requests….seriously. I’m waiting…

October 30: Writing Prompt #303-Free to Be Me

What’s the character trait you admire the most about yourself?

REPEAT NIGHT and it’s a good thing because I am super tired tonight, so whatever I write would probably be half-jibberish as I fight off sleep. Turn back the blog to this date: January 16 with writing prompt #16-Toot your horn

The Topic: Most of us are excellent at being self-deprecating, and are not so good at the opposite. Tell us your favorite thing about yourself.

You can read my answer here: http://atolllife.blogspot.com/2015/01/january-16-writing-prompt-16-toot-your.html

Now it’s your turn, what’s your favorite character trait about yourself?? C’mon, don’t be shy. Light up my blog or Facebook post with your answers. J  Please…..

October 29: Writing Prompt #302-First

Tell us about your first day at something — your first day of school, first day of work, first day living on your own, first day blogging, first day as a parent, whatever.

My first day as a parent started around midnight feeling like I had the flu then going to the bathroom and being amazed at how much I had to pee, finally realizing that I was no longer peeing, but water was still coming out.  After calling out to my spouse at the time and asking him to bring me the “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” book and concluding that my water had in fact, broke, I told him we needed to go to the hospital, now.  Seven hours later filled mostly with back labor, shaking in between contractions, and a little relaxation in the form of Nubane in my IV, I had my first beautiful, baby boy.  And then, silence as the peanut gallery of hospital personnel (every nurse and doctor attends when you have a child in a tiny military hospital out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean where not many babies are born) all left with my spouse and my newborn, leaving me with the doctor who was busy sewing me up. 

Later, I was moved to a room with an ocean view, and sleep came quick and easy. I don’t remember a whole lot of those first hours besides for visitors and struggling to learn how to breastfeed a baby who wasn’t really interested in latching on.  I know there was a lot of amazement (at this tiny little creature that had come out of my body and was so sweet and helpless) and trepidation (as I worried about him not breastfeeding and how to be the best mom to him that I could be) and there were lots and lots of visits from all our Kwajalein family.  Even more than that, there was tons of staring at my newborn babe in wonder and watching him breath while he was sleeping in his hospital bassinet next to me.  There were first photographs, phone calls home to Alabama, lots of balloons, flowers, and stuffed animals, and more than anything, love for this new life brought into the world 3 ½ weeks before we expected him.  He was healthy (I remember being worried about his little newborn cries, and my doctor told me, “it’s okay for him to cry; it’s how he exercises his lungs.”), handsome, and although I didn’t know it at the time, a relatively easy-going baby. 

So, my first day of being a parent was what I would call a great success, but not so much because of anything I had done, only because of all the wonderful support I had from the hospital staff and Kwaj community as well as the fact that it was a smooth and uncomplicated birth. Thank goodness! Now, my first experience with becoming a parent of two little boys was not so smooth, although still wonderful, but that’s a story for another day.  J

October 28: Writing Prompt #301-Seven Wonders

Khalil Gibran once said that people will never understand one another unless language is reduced to seven words. What would your seven words be?

Okay, I’m going to break the rules a little bit on this prompt (not like I haven’t done that before in the previous 300 days of writing, right?! Of course I have…Lol), I’m going to reduce the language to 9 words, and here they are:

LOVE

JOY

PEACE

PATIENCE

KINDNESS

GOODNESS

FAITHFULNESS

GENTLENESS

SELF-CONTROL

And one verse from the Bible:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galations 5:22-23

I think if we always tried to understand each other using these 9 words, the world would be a much nicer place and much easier to navigate. What words would you chose?

October 27: Writing Prompt #300-The Golden Hour

6:00AM: the best hour of the day, or too close to your 3:00AM bedtime?

This one is a somewhere in between for me.  I rarely stay up past around 10 pm, but I do tend to be more of a night person than an early morning person.  Once I had children, my rule became “just let me stay in bed until 7 am,” then I’m good. When they got older, and I started back to work full time, I needed to carve out exercise time before work, and the best time for that was 6 am or before.  Although it was not always easy to get out of bed to go running or to sunrise yoga, I did it, and I was always so glad to be done with it before starting work for the day. When it became a habit, I didn’t mind getting up early, exercising, and then having time to relax and enjoy my coffee and so forth before work.  I had settled into this routine nicely before moving back to the states, and I would say, during that time in my life, 6 am was very close to the best hour of the day for me.

Now, my schedule has changed, and I am already at work by 6 am or on my way and exercising has to wait until the end of the day when I am already exhausted.  I don’t like this as much. I didn’t realize how nice it was to be able to get up early, but  not TOO early and take my time getting ready for work, including exercising and picking up the kitchen, etc…until I didn’t have that luxury anymore.  There are advantages and disadvantages to every schedule, and it is nice to get home earlier, but it doesn’t make my life any less hectic because now I have to fit my exercising in after work along with all my other chores and errands, so the extra time is taken up with the rest of life, and there’s no more real “quiet” moments because by the time I get home, there’s the dog and the children, and all the “noises” of life in general. 

The wee hours of the morning are good for those moments of silence, to give your brain a chance to wake up and think about the day before it gets into full swing, so there is something to be said for it, and I think it may still be the best hour of the day. It’s just that now I don’t get to enjoy the silence of it as I did before. I miss that…I guess that’s one of those things I can look forward to in retirement, huh?! J