It’s nice to get out of the writing cave once in a while and see the beauty in the world around me.
(c) Sloan Parker, 2013
(c) Sloan Parker, 2013
(c) Sloan Parker, 2013
(c) Sloan Parker, 2013
(c) Sloan Parker, 2013
(c) Sloan Parker, 2013
(c) Sloan Parker 2013
While taking my daily walks this past week, I noticed two swans had moved into my neighborhood. They do everything together. Fly, bathe, swim, groom. Admittedly I know next to nothing about the life of swans. (Although I do believe they can form life-long monogamous pair bonds and are fiercely protective of their nests. My hon was even chased by one as a kid.)
As I watched these swans, I found myself asking question after question.
(c) Sloan Parker 2013
Will they stay here? Or is this a stopover for them? How long have they been together? What will happen if one of them passes away?
I’m walking and thinking. My mind pondering the past and future of these swans.
(c) Sloan Parker 2013
More walking, more thinking.
Of course, like I’ve always done since I was a kid, if I don’t know something, I make up my own story for it.
(c) Sloan Parker 2013
Now these swans each have a tragic backstory that led them to the moment they met. I know how long they’ve been together and that one is older than the other. I know how many obstacles they had to overcome to get to this peaceful, contented place they now live.
Then I stopped, stared at the swans, and laughed at myself. I could’ve been pondering and plotting my next book. But noooo… I’m dreaming up stories for two swans. Swans!
Thus goes the mind of a writer, a daydreamer.
Was planning to meet my parents for dinner at Pizza Hut the other night when my mom sent the following text…
See u @ 6 @jizza hut.
Not that I would mind going to jizza hut, but I really don’t want to meet my parents there.
(c) Sloan Parker 2013
I recently bought this new-to-me brand of furniture polish. When it came in the mail, my honey read the back label, just shook her head, and said, “Of course you’d buy this kind.”
Me: “Why?”
She handed me the tin and said, “Read the very bottom.”
I looked at the label and saw their tagline: “Love Your Wood.”
Her: “And the instructions…”
“rub onto wood in a circular motion and rejoice”
Me: “Yeah, you can’t forget the rejoicing. That’s the best part of rubbing your wood.”
Mom was having trouble signing into her computer. She called me for help and this was the explanation I received in her most serious tone.
“The password box is there and the little cursor is cursing, but I can’t type anything!”
Thank God a reboot fixed the issue. Because I couldn’t say anything for several minutes while I just laughed at her cursing cursor.
I do appreciate the little laugh-filled breaks my parents offer on the days when I’m locked in the writing cave.
(Blog note: Starting next week I’m going to be changing my blog schedule to Wednesdays and Fridays. Actually I shouldn’t call it a schedule. I don’t stress over making sure I post every so often since writing my fiction is my main priority every week, but I have fun with the blog so I like having specific days on my schedule as a reminder to post. Also, for those of you on email subscriptions, I switched to a new email RSS service called MailChimp. Anyone previously signed up to receive the blog posts via email through Google Feedburner or WordPress have been automatically transferred to the new service. Hopefully no one is getting duplicate posts in your email, but if you are, you can always unsubscribe from one of them using the link in the email. The MailChimp version is the new one you’d want to keep. If anyone else would like to sign up to receive these posts by email, you can use the form on the homepage of my website. There’s also one there for my newsletter.)