CWP #2

A white wolf has come down from the mountains and is approaching the garden. It is now frighteningly close. Somebody comes to the rescue. (found here)

A white wolf has come down from the mountains and approaches the perimeter of my garden. She sniffs around the white picket fence that forms its borders. The wolf saunters up to the open gate, turns to look at me through narrowed piercing brown eyes and turns back and enters. The garden is large, filled with flowers, herbs and vegetables of all kinds. I spend every morning in that garden examining each plant, tilling the soil and providing water when needed. It’s as if the wolf knows this is my sanctuary and she is entering my territory. She walks up the main pathway lined with white stones and stops at the towering eggplant leaves, bursting with beautiful violet globes of fruit. It is only then that I hear the faint cries coming from the garden. The wolf carefully lies down on her belly and scoots under the bush ever so carefully so as not to disturb anything. When she emerges, between her jaws she gingerly holds a snow white wolf cub, softly mewing for his mother. The wolf saunters back out of the garden, tosses me one last glance and takes off back into the mountains.

These are completely unedited and I’d love to read your comments.

What happens to the white wolf in your imagination?

CWP #1

Jason had never felt so foolish before, and he hoped he’d never feel so foolish again…

He couldn’t believe he had done it. He had imagined this moment for the past two months. He never believed it would go so very wrong. When he first decided to ask her, he planned out every moment. The only thing he didn’t plan, couldn’t plan, was her reaction.

It all started two months ago. They’d been dating for almost two years and she’d been dropping hints. He knew he loved her but he wasn’t sure he was ready for marriage. It seemed like such a huge commitment. Besides that, he didn’t exactly have the best role models in the commitment arena. HIs parents divorced when he was young. His grandparents on both sides were also divorced, a distinctly rare occurrence. His only sister was on her 3rd marriage. So, you can forgive him if he didn’t have a lot of faith in the institution. No one in his life seemed to be able to make it work so he believed he should just avoid the entire prospect to begin with.

But Sarah did. She wholeheartedly believed in marriage. It was something she’d dreamed of since she was very young and had thought through how the day would play out in her childhood fantasies. Many of these she had shared since she started dating Jason so it wasn’t like he didn’t know where she stood on the topic.

Over time the idea of marriage grew on him. Mostly the idea of being married to Sarah. She made him live, experience life. He was a different person with her. The man he always wanted to be.

So when Sarah told him that her mother had cancer two months ago, he decided. He wanted to marry Sarah and he was going to ask. He wanted to give her something positive to focus on and also her mother. Jason loved Cynthia and she was like a second mother to him. She always said she couldn’t wait to see Jason and Sarah walk down the aisle together. Of course she always followed this up with “No pressure, kids!” and a little wink.

He didn’t tell anyone his plans. He found the ring (scoping out Sarah’s Pinterest page certainly helped). He picked their favorite romantic restaurant and made reservations for the night of their second anniversary, hoping she wouldn’t suspect a thing. He had her favorite flowers, pink lilies delivered to the restaurant and he picked her up at 6pm sharp. The butterflies in his stomach were incessant and he wasn’t sure he could actually go through with it. As they drove to the restaurant he tried to make small talk but it all felt so stilted. Even Sarah seemed off tonight and he couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

At the restaurant he ordered a bottle of her favorite red wine and some appetizers. And they sat there, neither of them saying a word.

Maybe she knows what I’m planning and she is just waiting for me to go for it, he thought.

So he did.

“Sarah, I love you so much and you have given me so much through this relationship. For the first time I enjoy life, enjoy adventures, spontaneity. All those things we do, I’d never have done on my own. You gave that to me. You help me to be the man I’ve always wanted to be. I want to spend the rest of our lives together, to grow old together.”

Jason paused and considered the look on her face. She looked shocked though she still hadn’t said a world.

He continued, “Sarah, will you do me the honor of being my wife?” As he said those words he reached in his pocked and removed a small box from his coat pocket and opened it to show her the gleaming diamond inside.

As soon as she saw the ring, Sarah pushed back her chair making a loud scraping noise on the hardwood floors. She grabbed her bag and ran out of the restaurant leaving a trail of eyes watching her.

2015

A new year is upon us and with that comes the requisite new years resolutions. I actually haven’t ever really made any in past years. At least, I haven’t written them down so I couldn’t tell you what they were (remember that memory I mentioned earlier?). This year I thought I would do something different and actually WRITE them down. So, here goes:

1. Write: I want to successfully complete my first writing course in the spring and possibly sign up for another in the fall. I also want to keep up with writing on this blog. I’d like to post 2-3 times a week minimum. I have an idea for a novel that I’ve started working on and doing research for. I’d like to have the research completed, a full outline, character profiles and some chapters of the book complete by the end of the year. This is huge and I know it will be a challenge. 

2. Read: I’m signing up for the 50 book challenge on goodreads. I never make time for reading and I really want to read more this year. I know it will benefit me and my writing.

3. Eat Less, Move More: No, this isn’t the old “I am going to lose X pounds this year.” I have been stopping and starting with running since the birth of my son – almost 4 years ago! I recently found a workout I really LOVE (Orangetheory Fitness) and started that in October. I want to continue going to OTF 2 times per week and run at home 3 times per week. It’s good for me and my sweet dog, Annie. The eating less is harder. Mostly I want to eat less sugar and not eating late at night. Mostly, I just want to be healthy and have more energy. If I lose a few pounds in the process, great. But I’m not putting a specific weight out there because it has just NEVER worked for me. 

4. Random Acts of Kindness: this world needs more kindness don’t you think? Recently, my family & I were out to dinner and when we went to pay the bill the server told us that someone had covered our entire bill. The man had already left so we have no idea why. Possibly, just because. It was overwhelming and humbling and oh so very kind. That random act of kindness impacted me in a powerful way and inspired me to “pay it forward.” I want to spread that kindness big and small in my own life.

5. Travel: Local, out-of-state, abroad. Travel of all kinds. I love exploring new places with my family and I want to continue that in 2015.  

That’s it. Short and sweet. I won’t overwhelm myself with too much. I think this is a good list to manage my course correction, primarily with writing. The rest will enrich my life in other ways that hopefully have a positive impact on my writing as well.

What are you resolutions for 2015?

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.‘” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson