Here I am!
My mother knows I have been trying to write about our family; I have been doing it since 1995. Well, mostly about my father and everyone else that revolves around him. A few months ago when I called her up late one night to ask her a question pertaining to him, her voice became all serious, "You're not writing anything bad, are you?"
"No, I'm not. Just the truth!"
She went on to tell me that a few years ago she came across something that I wrote which didn't make my father sound so good. "Just write good stuff!" was all she said before giving the response that I needed, and then she hung up the phone.
It took me a few minutes to get over her funny statements; so typical of her- always standing by her man! I say this with cynicism but in actuality, my mom being the way she is, has taught me so much in regards to my own life (which of course makes it all the more complicated too) Growing up, us kids were never allowed to breathe a single bad word about our father. We were taught by our mother to love and respect him for the man that he is. He was our father, and that was enough to warrant our undying love and loyalty; we would not be where we were had it not been for his hard work, suffering and perseverance.
I have so many stories. Where shall I start? What should I omit and what stories get told? How will it end, and when will it end? When I am sad, certain memories rush back and forth across my mind. When happy, my youth comes bouncing through the years and I feel as though it were yesterday once more.
I am turning 40 this summer. Yep, this is my year. I say it is my lucky SEVENS. July, 17, 1967. And I am going right back to the beginning. I started this blog last summer as a means of disciplining myself to keep writing without the confinement of the BIG story. Think of a thought or a significant event, and go with it...see where it leads me and hopefully bring another chapter to life somewhere. But in between taking care of a household of five including a toddler, and living the life that I am trying to come to grasp with everyday, my thoughts get jammed somewhere between laundry and trying to get in enough sleep (five hours) to function properly. A big part of me knows that time is running out. The story needs to be out there. I want my father to know the story as I see it; I want my children to understand, for they are, in the end, my most important audience. As I sit here tonight, 90% better from the crazy flu-like ailments I dealt with this week, I am determine to get it all down. To tell the story from its beginning (as I know it)and try to come to some sort of ending in the next few months.
Why choose to do it in this genre? This is a huge challenge. At the end of each entry when I push that "publish" button..my story is out there for whoever chooses to see it. In my case mostly friends and family members, but it is still a huge task. Friends have asked me sometimes "how come you haven't written?" This puts much more pressure on me, therefore, I think it is only helpful for me at this stage to keep adding to my entries and to keep writing and sharing any and all stories from the start.
The stories will flow as I see them in their respective order.
"No, I'm not. Just the truth!"
She went on to tell me that a few years ago she came across something that I wrote which didn't make my father sound so good. "Just write good stuff!" was all she said before giving the response that I needed, and then she hung up the phone.
It took me a few minutes to get over her funny statements; so typical of her- always standing by her man! I say this with cynicism but in actuality, my mom being the way she is, has taught me so much in regards to my own life (which of course makes it all the more complicated too) Growing up, us kids were never allowed to breathe a single bad word about our father. We were taught by our mother to love and respect him for the man that he is. He was our father, and that was enough to warrant our undying love and loyalty; we would not be where we were had it not been for his hard work, suffering and perseverance.
I have so many stories. Where shall I start? What should I omit and what stories get told? How will it end, and when will it end? When I am sad, certain memories rush back and forth across my mind. When happy, my youth comes bouncing through the years and I feel as though it were yesterday once more.
I am turning 40 this summer. Yep, this is my year. I say it is my lucky SEVENS. July, 17, 1967. And I am going right back to the beginning. I started this blog last summer as a means of disciplining myself to keep writing without the confinement of the BIG story. Think of a thought or a significant event, and go with it...see where it leads me and hopefully bring another chapter to life somewhere. But in between taking care of a household of five including a toddler, and living the life that I am trying to come to grasp with everyday, my thoughts get jammed somewhere between laundry and trying to get in enough sleep (five hours) to function properly. A big part of me knows that time is running out. The story needs to be out there. I want my father to know the story as I see it; I want my children to understand, for they are, in the end, my most important audience. As I sit here tonight, 90% better from the crazy flu-like ailments I dealt with this week, I am determine to get it all down. To tell the story from its beginning (as I know it)and try to come to some sort of ending in the next few months.
Why choose to do it in this genre? This is a huge challenge. At the end of each entry when I push that "publish" button..my story is out there for whoever chooses to see it. In my case mostly friends and family members, but it is still a huge task. Friends have asked me sometimes "how come you haven't written?" This puts much more pressure on me, therefore, I think it is only helpful for me at this stage to keep adding to my entries and to keep writing and sharing any and all stories from the start.
The stories will flow as I see them in their respective order.
posted by cream cheese dreams at 7:28 PM
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