Give me a break…

January 5, 2020 by 4 Comments

Gimme a break

Write about the word “break”.

Seems easy enough.  I mean, one can break a leg (or some other body part), possibly break an object (just not in anger, please) or, in Judaism, break-fast with the meal eaten after fast days such as Yom Kippur and Tisha B’Av.  Or, plain and simple, just take a break, in general.  Kind of a pregnant-pause, so to speak, which should be then followed by something significant.

Well, that’s not so easy.  All of my energies to write and bring forth something earth-shattering or even meaningful, a tad more than one week after Christmas, have long departed the ranch.  And, it’s not just me, folks.  So many people I’ve spoken with are slowly climbing out from under all the holiday madness that seemed to fly by at warp speed.  It’s like the holidays came, went, conquered, and left millions of exhausted survivors to now start undoing every last festive touch that seemed to take us so much time to put in place.

I just feel the need in having to blame something and that lies on the calendar for 2019.  We all know that Thanksgiving is celebrated on the 4th Thursday in November but, in 2019, with November 1st being on a Friday, that placed the traditional 4th Thursday of the month into the #5 Thursday slot in November.  Got that?

Fair warning…this same date-situation will take place in 2024 when Thanksgiving will fall on November 28th.  Again.  Until that date, we’re good to go and should all be in fine shape to dive, head-first, into the holiday season.

You’re welcome and…Happy New Year!

 

workshop-button-1From Mama Kat’s Writers Workshop…What were you blogging about a year ago? What has changed since then?
This post was from a tad more than one year ago; it was focused on the word “break” and I thought it worth sharing again because it kind of fit this current writing prompt.  And it made me laugh, just for a moment, at the “What has changed” part of the prompt. 

One year ago, when I wrote this, I ranted about a hectic holiday season.  Poor me.  One year ago, I don’t think many of us, if any, could have possibly imagined what a horrific year 2020 would turn out to be…and still is in this newborn year of 2021.  So many lives, hopes, wishes and dreams were crushed in the past year but, if anything, most of us have managed to survive. 

At least for now.

 

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A moment, long ago…

November 19, 2019 by 4 Comments

An old photograph that captured a moment in time, insignificant to others who may look at it. 

 

Me at Hudson Park

Snow in the background, obviously a cold day and a little girl with somewhat of a “pained” look on her face.  Was it from the hat tied too tightly under her chin or the straps on her Mary Jane shoes causing discomfort?  No mittens? 

Or something more?

As the subject matter on that January day in 1949, I can still recall what I was thinking…and feeling.  Old photos are funny that way.  We can forget so many things but one image can transport us back in time in a matter of seconds.  In that background was my father, scolding me to stop wiggling around while my mother took pictures with her Brownie camera.  I was cold, my hands were freezing, my ankles hurt and I remember how that little woolen hat was rubbing under my chin.

And…I had to go to the bathroom!

The photo session ended, I was abruptly removed and replaced to the back seat of my father’s car, to be lectured from the front seat, that I would never again be allowed to drink a n y t h i n g before a Sunday, or any, family expedition.

 

workshop-button-1From Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop…Throwback Thursday! Find an old photo and share the backstory!  Oddly enough, when I pulled up this photo for the writing prompt, memories just came flooding-in.  My mother purchased the coat and hat set I wore from Arnold Constable, a long-ago, favorite, department store in our town.  I despised the outfit…especially the leggings that came with it…all made of the itchiest wool known to man.  At least it seemed that way to me. 

 

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No sleep til Brooklyn…

October 28, 2019 by 10 Comments

You suddenly find yourself awake around 3 or 4 a.m.  Tell me it never happens to you and I’ll make you an offer on a bridge that’s for sale.  Trust me, we’ve all gone through this or experience it, almost nightly.

sleep art

 

Sleep, at least a good one, can be so fleeting.   This “restful time” each night, when the body and brain shut down for a few hours to gear-up for the following day, can in fact be quite the opposite.  Certainly, the issue of healthy habits leading up to bedtime play a big role in our restful slumber but there are the issues of thoughts that stampede through our mind and wake us in a most abruptive fashion.   Happens to me all the time.

Of course, we all know to avoid eating or drinking certain things prior to bedtime.  Also, never watch some horror movie or read anything which might inflame our REM sleep.  Yes, yes, elementary, my dear Watson.

Whether it’s some ongoing, unfinished, argument, work-related issues,  or painful memories which come jabbing at us during the night, the recommended 7 or more hours of sleep each night (ages 18 – 60) can be nothing more than words on some page or a generalized suggestion from a physician.

Speaking of those words on some page, a few appropriate quotes on this subject.  I wonder if most of these were written after a good nights sleep or at 4 in the morning. 

“Man should forget his anger before he lies down to sleep.” — Mahatma Gandhi

“Your future depends on your dreams, so go to sleep.” — Mesut Barazany

“A well spent day brings happy sleep.” — Leonardo da Vinci

“The best bridge between despair and hope is a good night’s sleep.” — E. Joseph Cossman

 “Anyone can escape into sleep. We are all geniuses when we dream, the butcher’s the poet’s equal there.” — Emile M. Cioran

“The night is the hardest time to be alive and 4 am knows all my secrets.”

And…my personal favorite, not that you asked…. “Nothing cures insomnia like the realization that it’s time to get up.”

 

workshop-button-1From Mama Kat’s Workshop….Write a blog post inspired by the word: dream.   I previously wrote this as a prompt response to the word “sleep” but decided that this post fit the bill.  As far as the title of this post, it’s just a Beastie Boys song that I like.  Kind of appropriate, not that I live anywhere near Brooklyn.

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