Never Forget...

No words are needed.

Firework

I attended a funeral today for a special woman who was a member of my writing group. Although I had not known her for a long time, I was touched by her dedication to the craft of writing and her spunky personality that shone in our meetings. Today I learned that her birthday was Independence Day, which makes perfect sense because she truly was an independent spirit.

Her daughter communicated to those of us in attendance that her mother’s dying wish was to see her novel published, and as a fellow writer that really struck me. When I started writing romance a few years ago, one of the driving forces that pushed me was to see a love that truly would be “happily ever after”. If you write a great love story, have it set in stone (or on paper as it were), it will truly last. A book will outlast me and my time on earth. If I were to be published, my story would be a legacy of hope in love for anyone who would read it. I completely understand the emotion behind her wish.

In honor of a fellow writer and believer in Romance (who was born on July 4), here are a couple lines from Katy Perry’s “Firework” (paraphrased):

You just gotta ignite, the light, and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go "Oh, oh, oh"
As you shoot across the sky.

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go "Oh, Oh, Oh"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe.

Even brighter than the moon.
It's always been inside of you.
And now it's time to let it through.

Back to SKUUULLLL

I decided to go back to school at 38 and finish my Associates in Psychology. Why not? I only had four classes left when I got my first degree fifteen years ago. Well, as life has a sense of humor I found out that a lot of the core classes I took “way back then (thank you Mr. Counselor)” no longer count as the core requirements have changed. So what I expected to be a year-long process is looking more like two or two and a half years. But, I am not discouraged. I am energized. I look at it as an opportunity to explore subjects that I wouldn’t have normally explored.

This Fall I am taking Geology and Psychology of Dreams. Geology doesn’t hold an ounce interest for me whatsoever (rocks…ooo, interesting…). But judging from the overall wackiness of the instructor and her jokes about vibrators, it might be interesting after all. The Dreams class, however, is right up my alley. I’ve always been very lucky to be not only a vivid dreamer but a lucid dreamer and as a kid I just assumed that everyone could do the same thing. Well, no, they can’t. The instructor promised everyone in the packed class that by the end of the semester we will all not only be able to recall more dreams, analyze them and decipher their meanings, but also we will be able to dream with lucidity. I am so excited to see this happen for the rest of the class. It really is such a great feeling to be awake and aware during my dreams and I wish it for everyone.

Blood Donor

The needle pierces my skin,
A sting of pain, then numb.
I’m far to used to this charade,
I close my eyes. Succumb.

My life-force, I feel it drain,
Trickling sickly from my vein.
But I don’t mind, I feel alive
I relish in the pain.

Pages

What lessons must I learn
From this blank slate before me?
Never ending the questions
My muse will emplore me.

I strive not to fade away,
Not to merely exist.
In a black and white world
More color, I’ll insist!

I can’t go forward
I can’t step behind
I don’t even know why
But I’m loosing my mind.