I subscribe to a word of the day prompt for writing. Yesterday, I wrote Footsteps in response to one of these daily prompts. Because I've spent the last ten minutes staring at a blank computer screen, I decided to try another one for today's SOL. And, although I'm not necessarily a big fan of writing prompts I obviously need help again to get me writing. Today's prompt is "edge". My first response today, unlike yesterday wasn't, "Woah! What am I going to write about that?" Instead, I immediately thought of several ways I could respond to this prompt to suit my needs and my mood at the moment. So, here it goes.
This week has been difficult. It was our spring break vacation and we had some plans. We needed to tick off a few important items from our family to do list, like taking the car to the mechanic and paying the required annual registration fee. We went to the wrong place after a long time driving and now we have to pay the $50 fine for registering our car late. I felt on edge because at that point we'd been driving for about two hours as we'd done a couple of other errands before that. (By the time we got home, I would have been driving almost 4 hours total and I was exhausted. Driving in Quito requires heavy concentration and patience; I was running low on both of these by the end of the day.)
I tried to talk myself out of a rant since it was my husband that had bundled the appointment, not once but twice, and I knew he felt pretty bad about his mistake. I succeeded in bringing myself back over the edge.
On Tuesday we were going to drive to one of our favorite cities here, Baños, for the night, but my son got sick in the middle of the night. We thought we could still make the trip later in the morning, but by 11:00 it was clear that wasn't a good idea. So, we stayed home instead.
On Wednesday, one of my brothers-in-law and his youngest son came from Guayaquil (the biggest port city here) to go to the soccer stadium to watch the Ecuador-Paraguay qualifiers on Thursday. We tied 2 - 2, but we almost lost. The team took us over the edge several times and people started to lose hope. However, groups of fans chanted encouragement to the national team and I do believe that is why they were able to tie the game at the very last minute.
On Friday, we went out for breakfast and then took a drive near our house. We were all a little bit shell shot from the outcome of the game: we really needed a win! In the afternoon, my brother-in-law and nephew flew back home and we went back to our routine.
Yesterday, we had a good friend and her family come over for a late lunch. That was definitely a highlight of our week. Their boys and our son had a blast and the four of us laughed so much that it made up for a not-so-good earlier part of the week.
Interesting how we focus on the negatives. If I wrote this post again, I would focus on the chores we were able to accomplish, rather than the ones that still need to be done. I would celebrate my brother-in-law's visit and the tie that our national team was able to pull off. I would focus more on the lovely lunch we had with our neighbors. I would deal with my hoarse voice and frustration about the end of the vacation and a to-do list that seems to have grown rather than diminished.
A look over the edge is one thing. Focusing on that exclusively negates all the positive that can lift us up and that we can celebrate.
Cross posted to Two Writing Teachers March Slice of Life, Day #27.
Edge
This week has been difficult. It was our spring break vacation and we had some plans. We needed to tick off a few important items from our family to do list, like taking the car to the mechanic and paying the required annual registration fee. We went to the wrong place after a long time driving and now we have to pay the $50 fine for registering our car late. I felt on edge because at that point we'd been driving for about two hours as we'd done a couple of other errands before that. (By the time we got home, I would have been driving almost 4 hours total and I was exhausted. Driving in Quito requires heavy concentration and patience; I was running low on both of these by the end of the day.)
I tried to talk myself out of a rant since it was my husband that had bundled the appointment, not once but twice, and I knew he felt pretty bad about his mistake. I succeeded in bringing myself back over the edge.
On Tuesday we were going to drive to one of our favorite cities here, Baños, for the night, but my son got sick in the middle of the night. We thought we could still make the trip later in the morning, but by 11:00 it was clear that wasn't a good idea. So, we stayed home instead.
On Wednesday, one of my brothers-in-law and his youngest son came from Guayaquil (the biggest port city here) to go to the soccer stadium to watch the Ecuador-Paraguay qualifiers on Thursday. We tied 2 - 2, but we almost lost. The team took us over the edge several times and people started to lose hope. However, groups of fans chanted encouragement to the national team and I do believe that is why they were able to tie the game at the very last minute.
On Friday, we went out for breakfast and then took a drive near our house. We were all a little bit shell shot from the outcome of the game: we really needed a win! In the afternoon, my brother-in-law and nephew flew back home and we went back to our routine.
Yesterday, we had a good friend and her family come over for a late lunch. That was definitely a highlight of our week. Their boys and our son had a blast and the four of us laughed so much that it made up for a not-so-good earlier part of the week.
Interesting how we focus on the negatives. If I wrote this post again, I would focus on the chores we were able to accomplish, rather than the ones that still need to be done. I would celebrate my brother-in-law's visit and the tie that our national team was able to pull off. I would focus more on the lovely lunch we had with our neighbors. I would deal with my hoarse voice and frustration about the end of the vacation and a to-do list that seems to have grown rather than diminished.
A look over the edge is one thing. Focusing on that exclusively negates all the positive that can lift us up and that we can celebrate.
Cross posted to Two Writing Teachers March Slice of Life, Day #27.
Edge
Comments