Friday, December 02, 2011

Reverb11 -- Day 2

Today's prompt: My children will do it differently: If you could choose one thing that your children will do or experience in a different way than you have, what would it be and why?

OR

Prompt: Whimsy: Recall a fairy tale-esque moment from 2011. An epic kiss? A triumphant victory? A Wonderland-esque adventure? How did this momentous or fanciful happening affect your outlook?

Two different prompts from two lists. Hm. Let's see what comes....

#1: My children have already done the biggest thing I would have wished for them to do differently, alas, and that is to struggle with addiction and all its consequences. I would have wished for them not to have to face those dragons, ever. But they have. They do. But they are doing it differently than I did, long ago. Who I am today is in no small measure a result of how I faced down my dragon. Their futures will reflect their own battles. I hope they will come through stronger, better, wiser. And I recognize my powerlessness over their choices.   

But the other thing I would wish for them to do differently is to settle for anything less than what they truly want. Part of that process is defining what they want, however, and that can take years. I hope they find that sooner than I did, but I hope their end result is as rewarding as mine has been.

#2: There was little whimsy in my life this year, actually. The fairytale-esque moments were more out of the Brothers Grimm than Disney: plenty of scary, dark, ominous-looking woods to travel through, and the potential of scary creatures jumping across my path.

There were, however, some moments of well-being, of feeling completely at peace with the world and with where I was.

Those weren't 'big' moments. Watching our favorite television shows at night, lights darkened, wood stove glowing, the alcove above it twinkling with lights and the silhouettes of the angel statues that live there year-round, kitties curled up on their tuffets and audibly snoring. Snugged together up in bed on clean, soft sheets, kitties in their usual sleeping places -- Cheswick by Tony's side, McMurphy at his feet -- and talking quietly about how lucky we are to have found each other. Reading long, engaging books in a room with floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding doors open to a wide, wonderful ocean vista, pillows surrounding me and a cup of hot chai tea beside me, my honey sitting close by and also reading -- for three days this is how we spent our time! How wonderful is that!

More whimsy in 2012, please.

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