by Sarah | Jan 14, 2011 | 100 Words, Writing
Three forms of birth control didn’t stop conception.
Her parents didn’t know she was there, but she grew anyway.
4 weeks early she came.
Tiny, strong, pink.
The world’s happiest baby.
Torticollis.
Tightened limbs, stuck in the ‘airplane reflex’.
Tibial Torsion.
Dysphagia.
Hypotonia.
Cystic Fibrosis.
Her parents’ world filled with words, labels, fears, harsh realities. Pain wrapped around their hearts daily.
Then she’d smile.
Laugh.
Continue to grow.
Intelligent.
Happy.
Strong.
Already so many odds she’s pushed past. Nothing has stopped her yet. Nothing will stop her in the future.
She’s not afraid. Never was.
She’s got an invincible spirit.
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Note: This is about my own daughter. The minute I saw the word was invincible, I knew I had to write this. My heart wouldn’t let me walk away. Angel is our light…every day she gives us reasons to believe she’ll beat down every obstacle that comes her way.
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Please, visit Velvet’s site to check out other more worthy entries…
by Sarah | Oct 30, 2010 | 100 Words, All About Me, Writing
This was what she’d wanted. There were no regrets. There never had been.
The choice was gone, the grip of menopause growing ever tighter. She dealt with the hot flashes, the swinging moods as well.
She focused on the joy of it. The relief of not dealing with pain and ick.
Then it hit. Unbidden. Unwelcome.
Tiny movements. Kicks. Little grasping fingers. Giggles. Smiles.
She’d had them. 3 times.
But they would never be hers to feel again. Not through any means but memory.
It was what she’d wanted.
So why did it hit her so hard now? Years later?
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I do the 100 word challenge regularly over at my writing blog. For some reason this week I was inspired twice over. This came out so I posted it over here.
In just a few weeks it will be the 4 year anniversary of my emergency hysterectomy. I never regretted my choice once it was made, even lying in the women’s center recovering, listening to the sound of newborn babies crying. Not once in the past four years. Until recently when I had a moment. A moment where regret hit me hard…before going away again.
Thus this post.
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Please, visit Velvet’s site to check out other more worthy entries…
by Sarah | Oct 30, 2010 | 100 Words, Writing
The earths’ parched lips gasped for refreshment. A drop of water to save its barren surface.
When the skies finally darkened, the world reached up to receive it. Leaves curving up toward the sky. Cracked blades of grass stirred in the gentle wind. Soothing drops fell. One. Two. Three. Soaking into the landscape, welcomed, invited.
Unbidden it turned. Pouring down so fast the world could not receive.
The winds whipped up tearing the fragile world.
Shattering dry, fragile limbs of trees.
Stirring up the dusty remains of the dry earth, spreading it far.
Devastation.
Tornado.
Mother Nature can be cruel.
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Please, visit Velvet’s site to check out other more worthy entries…
by Sarah | Oct 15, 2010 | 100 Words, Writing
Shadowed forms in dark relief against the frosted panes. Moving back and forth in vague, aimless fashion. A woman screamed, a baby cried. Then silence.
When would they get there? Why was she alone for this?
“Chris!”
Thank heavens, someone was coming.
The light disappeared, the shadows gone. All that was left was broken panes, and empty room.
“Chris? What happened?”
She stepped forward, ignoring the arrival of her friend, looking into what had been the birthing room of the old hospital.
She’d thought a ghost hunt would be fun. She hadn’t imagined the sting of pain she’d feel. “Nothing.”
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Please, visit Velvet’s site to check out other more worthy entries…
by Sarah | Oct 1, 2010 | 100 Words, General, Writing
My heart pounds in my ears. Shaking hands check my watch again. What is taking her so long today? Did she know? How could she know? I still have twenty minutes before they’d call.
There. Her car’s pulling out of the driveway, and I duck back behind the neighbor’s house. Wait just two minutes now. Make certain she is gone. I won’t get caught. I haven’t yet.
The minute it’s clear I head back inside the house. I make the requisite phone call, grab a book and settle in for a day without torment. They’ll never know I’ve ditched school.
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~~Disclaimer: My entry for this week’s 100 words may or may not be based on true events. The image may or may not be of the real school involved in the alleged event. The perpetrator may or may not have been caught after 4 successful alleged ditchings. The perpetrator may or may not have been me. The alleged ditching’s may or may not have occurred because of regular torment by classmates. Middle School kids + one geekish girl w/ braces and bad acne = combustible situations.
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Please, visit Velvet’s site to check out other more worthy entries…
by Sarah | Sep 15, 2010 | 100 Words, Writing
What Can’t Be Captured
Her legs swing beneath the chair, shiny black shoes tapping against each other with a faint squeak at each pass.
Chin on her hands, her brown eyes dart back and forth, up and down. In the jar before her the lights flicker bright, zooming in the confined space. In moments she morphs, frail and old, staring at the same jar, now filled up with lights.
One light flares bright, lighting up her face in a smile, her eyes shine in memory.
Around it so many dim and die – you can’t save every memory. Important ones shine while others fade away.
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The prompt of Jar immediately made me think of fireflies in a jar – but as one who never actually collected fireflies in a jar (I know, the horrors!!) – this is the 100 words that evolved.
Check out the other entries at Velvet’s place…
(Click above to find the challenge!)
