Context: “Most people do not listen to understand, they listen to reply…” (Stephen R. Covey, author of , “7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change”. (1989))
(*I’ve never read the book, but (at some point) came across the above quote on Facebook*)
Colors used in today’s (make my musings) color palette(able)…
Beige—LIFE cereal;
Blue—nearly 14-years old, Jubilee’s becoming incontinent (time for doggie diapers);
Grey—today’s sky/color of the area rug I hope has no trace of pet pee(ve);
Red—feeling crabby;
Brown—the color of my (bring me) comfort food, burgers;
Rainbow hues—cutting to the chase…I’m feeling moody.
Hello, Wonderfuls…
Today, not sure that I can look you in the (Me, Myself and) I, I’m sharing my
Note To Self:
Ever have those days when you just wanna quit trying for a while?
When you just want to eat, veg, and sleep…
Hey, what’s with the celery sticks (in my craw)? I love that you’re trying to help, but you’ve obviously missed the comma after eat…
Lettuce not forget that the (veggie-)tables haven’t turned…I’m still not a fan of salad…
On the other hand, I’ve got no beef with cheese burgers!
Truth is, I’m feeling uber irritable…
Maybe it’s because I haven’t written for a while…
Or, maybe I haven’t written because I’m feeling irritable…
Makes me wonder “which-uh-wit-lack-patty-stack-give-the-dog-a-moan” came first—
my lack of courage or my lack of motivation?
(*The chicken or the egg (myself on) conundrum*)
For, caught up in wonder-rings (a nostalgic bell), I think I’ve gone prose blind
(*nose-blind pun*)…
See, lately I can’t tell if my writing stinks…
(* A—“Whiff you don’t know me by now”—(simply read) “Simply Red” pun*)
Alas, one and crawl, no baby steps about it…I’m experiencing a downword trajectory
I’m bored(ing an express-ly diss-sat-ass-fying couch potato cattle drive).
I’m a cow girl craving a transformative bovine boost…with bacon and cheese…hoping this loco motive(ate-er) will spur a runaway train of thought that transports me beyond the pale…
And into technicolor territory painted with whimsy and imagination.
Instead of scrolling, scrolling, scrolling (Facebook)…
I’m searching for a—“Keep your humor droll(ing), we tried”—headspace…
Unfortunately, I’m simultaneously considering that, in this particular instance, Paul McCartney, Michael Jackson, and John May-er-may-not agree that it’s better to (“Say, Say…”)“Say What You Need to Say”, regardless of how nonsensical.
(*My ambivalent mind chimes in, “What can I do, girl to get through to you, because I love you, maybe…maybe”…*)
On the other hand, if I don’t make the effort to communi-break my challenging moods, I’m left feeling like a club kid worried I might be missing the best rave ever!
Or, like an actor who’s turned down the lead in a sleeper hit that comes out of left (behind) field.
Oh, how my weary heart is thump…thump…thumping in hopes that you’ll understand, deer honey-bunny. 🙂
(*Thumper/Bambi, Winnie the Pooh (and pee), commercialized Easter pun.*)
Which begs another hope…
An answer to, “Why didn’t I write on the good and great days of late?”
That mystery is akin to my misguided decision to—having discovered Audible audio books—pause/save the glorious experience for a time I needed another boost; only to find that,
having taken those magical moments for granted,
they weren’t where I thought I’d find them when I searched for them again.
Anyway, here ends this chapter…
Initially hoping to ignore Jubie and Frosty’s stirrings, I knew I was taking a risk when I decided to let them out to pee.
I write much better/freer in bed, without the distraction of replenishing the dogs’ bowls after letting them out three or four times in a row (the smarties have their ways of maximizing rewards/treats).
But, compassion took over…that, and the sense that Frosty was minutes away from unleashing breathy-sigh-signals that the call of nature was soon to become a incessant (annoying) command.
And, although I told myself I wouldn’t fall for the compounding distractions of eating breakfast, putting potatoes and chicken in the oven for supper tonight, and watching TV for the hour it would take for the oven to do its work…
the (write) moment has passed.
However, something funny (haha and interesting) happened as soon as I turned the TV on…
I caught the last five minutes of a 2014 movie titled “Honor Student”…
Replete with low-budget/made for TV dialogue, the climax had the protagonist literally holding a gun to a woman’s head and urging her to start writing a novel…his way of proving to her that the words were just waiting for her to discover them…to have the courage to let them out.
Well, given this serendipitous turn of events, I can’t pretend that I’m still fighting with self-doubt and irritability…
For, having heeded my curiosity—and a willingness to make room for self-discovery—I’m in a different head-space.
Not that I’m out of the woods entirely, but I’m starting to remember how much I love and appreciate trees…
Part B will follow in…well, I’m not sure when…
But, as always, you will be the first to know…and, THANKS FOR UNDERSTANDING 🙂
God bless you and your loves, Delightfuls 🙂
Affectionately,
Truly
P.S. Title is my play on expression, “Curiosity killed the cat” and a spat is an argument; LIFE cereal was a fav in my youth, and today I decided to give it another go…it’s as good as I remember; Celery sticks/celery “sticks in my craw” is my play on the expression meaning, “makes me angry, irritated…; Makes me wonder “which-uh-wit-lack-patty-stack-give-the-dog-a-moan” came first is my play on (1870’s) nursery rhyme, “This Old Man (he played one, he played knick-knack on my thumb, with a knick-knack paddy wack give the dog a bone, this old man came rolling home)”; Prose blind is my play on the commercial tag line (gone nose blind)—meaning you’ve been living with an odor so long that you don’t even smell it anymore…but others sure do; Whiff you don’t know me by now is my play on British band, Simply Red’s fantastic (1989) cover tune, (“If You Don’t Know Me By Now”); Scrolling, scrolling, scrolling…Keep your humor droll(ing)…we tried is my play on Facebook, and (1959-1966) western TV show, “Rawhide–theme song lyrics (“Rolling, rolling, rolling, keep those doggies rolling, though the streams are swollen, rawhide…)”; “Say, Say, Say (What you want)” was released in 1983) and John Mayer’s hit was released in 2006; because I love you…maybe…maybe is my play on Say, Say, Say lyric (“because I love you, baby, baby…”)
I Will Wry-se Up 
There you are! I was about to scroll through your collection of posts for any I may have missed to drop you a friendly note…I found a quiet moment to spend some time in your world and hey, I’ve been wondering where my love of writing has gone, too (I think it’s lingering on the many hospital wards I find myself on lately!)…thank you for being brave and letting us know how it really is for you to pen your whimsy amid the unfolding of the real world! I’m looking forward to part two, my friend and wish you a lovely Monday (I’m self-soothing these days with hot chocolates and a dark fairy-tale book that I read each evening tucked up in bed with a new poem in my head that’s trying to come through!)!
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You are the second person I need to apologize to…somehow I didn’t respond to your loving, encouraging message…I could have sworn I did…please forgive me! I hope your precious father is doing better, and that the hot chocolate and fairy-tale provided the magic protection you needed. I will be sure to “visit you” this weekend…I miss you, my friend ❤
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What a serendipitous surprise…I was just thinking of you and was about to hunt down one of your older posts so I could say “hi”! You are always welcome to visit, my friend, and thank you for the beautiful words (as always!)!
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I also wondered if I might have missed your musings and pleased to see you in my reader this morning. Sorry that you are feeling blue my friend.
I took a month trying to avoid the all consuming Facebook, but didn’t quite manage it. My own writing has been different for the past month due to travel and the awesomeness of it all,I also didn’t write “on the good and great days of late” but tried to diarise to jog the memory. I have just returned full of the joys of the experience and Spring which is supposed to have arrived here in my absence, (someone please tell the weather) I’ve also got around 1000 images to review from it all, the camera was busy but part of the journeying will play out across my blog over time. Following a conversation with a fellow passenger about writing, I put it into perspective and my first poem in weeks arrived on the plane towards home. Sometimes talking about it gets us back into the right frame of mind. I await your writing as always with anticipation.
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I’m aghast to realize I didn’t respond to your comment…I have no idea how that happened! Thank you for thinking of/encouraging me, my friend…I look forward to catching up with you this weekend…I’ll be sure to “stop by”. 🙂
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Always happy to hear from you whenever you can.
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Let me pull you out of the depths and bring you into my shallows… (under thinking things is often my strength)
First thought while reading:
Can I just say I love the visual of you painting with words… and what an interesting palette you chose. Brown and Beige… a play on “Value”, Grey an achromatic color, Red and Blue primary colors (Additive) and Rainbow (ROY G BIV) Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet… wow your “moody” is awesomely colorful.
Second thought while reading:
I love cheese burgers… in India right now… no “real burgers” here… I had a water buffalo burger… just not that same… kind of reminded me of meatloaf… (meat unless mixed with bread and eggs should not taste like meatloaf)
Third thought:
I found this reading whimsical… so I can’t wait to read one of your technicolor territory paintings…
Final thought…
The 5 year old in me is still laughing that you wrote Winnie the Pooh (and pee)…
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Hahahaha…you laughing at Pooh/pee pun makes me laugh…so did your meatloaf assessment…thank you sooooo much for bringing the funny today…the day has been a long one and this comment has rally lightened things up 🙂
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I miss my Life cereal. I ate it for decades and gave it up to become “low carb.” Aw, to dream of beige again.
I haven’t written much and wonder when I’ll find my own muse. You inspire me! I have also been self-soothing with chocolate (a low carb version of that, too lol).
Lovely post, as always, Truly!
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Bless your heart, Judy…your comment made me smile…I’m grateful to have connections/friendships with people who can relate and who let me know that…it’s so great to have things in common with people one admires. Here’s to LIFE and living an authentic one 🙂
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Hi dear Truly,
Sometime life throws you unexpectedly a harsh ball to swallow, but I managed to do it again. Two steps back, fall, pick up the piece what feels comfortable and taking a new step 😉 So, catched up on your two latest posts and happy to read you appreciating the trees again too. As always, sending you a big hug again! XxX
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Hello, lovely Patty! Thank you for connecting :and commenting…I appreciate the support/encouragement and will be “right over” to see what’s happening on your blog. Also, I’m sending a big hug back 🙂
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Also, I am happy to hear that you were able to recover from life’s twists and turns and I’m hoping you are enjoying much love and joy 🙂
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No, dear Truly, your writing does not “stink”. Have no fear. But writing has a life of its own. There are times inspiration strikes so hard we are called to rise up from bed. There are other times we feel parched and barren, unsure we will ever write again.
Be gentle w/ yourself, when inspiration seems far off. Water will rise from the spring again in its own time.
With love,
Anna ❤
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Whoa! A ‘Rawhide’ pun! Talk about a cow-punchline! Your puns seems to come in drovers! You were clearly feeling Rowdy (Yates) when you wrote this post, but you did us, your many fans, a (Gil) Favor by persevering and completing it, despite feeling irritable from too much time in the blogging saddle, and/or attending to the needs of your doggies!!
Anyway, glad to finally mosey over here and hit the Truly Trail, sorry I done been gone saloon. I mean, so long. Always enjoy your stream of pun-sciousness, and I hope your mood will soon be as bright and shiny as a new box of Life cereal sittin’ next to a banana-colored ceramic bowl glinting in the morning sun!! Yes, dear Truly, that is my Wishbone for you!! 🌞🍌🍵😋
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Oh, dear, sweet Mark! I have no clue how I didn’t respond to your kind and amusing comment…first, thank you for taking the time to read and brighten my day (I am reading this weeks and weeks after you wrote it), second, I loved the “…been saloon” wordplay…it plastered a huge smile all over my heart…and the image of the yellow bowl and morning glint is such an uplifting image. You have such a wonderful imagination and way with words 🙂 Sending you a hug and the best, my friend 🙂
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Howdy stranger, it’s been a while since I’ve read anything from you… well it’s been a while since I’ve hopped on to WordPress… but I have a chance to catch up right now…
Now that I’ve listened, let me respond…
~Truth is, I’m feeling uber irritable~…. Come to think of it…So am I, so maybe I’ll wait to respond and just simply listen. I hope you’re doing well my friend.
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Well, hello there! Yes, I, too, have been missing in action…time seems to be flying and I got distracted by other things…all in all, life has been really good–with the exception of the past 2 weeks. One of my dogs (nearly 11 year old Frosty) had been quite ill and required a lot of care and attention. He got sick just prior to the 2nd week of my 2 week staycation…and my first week back at work included me having to get up extra early, coming home at lunch, staying up late and waking up several times in the night to hand feed him and get water into him (with a syringe). It was physically and emotionally draining….and, nerve wracking to say the least. I’ve had a blog post 85% complete for weeks, but haven’t had the inclination/focus to finish it. But, I will likely post by next weekend. How about you? Everything okay on your end? I check in to see if you’ve sent a response to this message in case you want to share more. I miss our chats…thanks so much for thinking of me and writing…it put a smile on my face, my friend 🙂
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Sometimes I feel like life itself is one giant mass of distraction with fleeting moments of calm and order.
Oh no! Welcome back to work! Sorry to hear about Frosty! Sounds like a grueling schedule. I admire the care you gave him. Is he doing better? You might need another staycation.
I’m with you on having no inclination to finish… although mine is driven by not wanting to start writing.
Well, I have found myself on a journey that I never thought I’d be on and I am…. …. not enjoying any of it. I’ve been looking for an exit sign but all the exits I’ve seen are no good so I will be on this journey for a while but it’ll be with my head bowed and my hands held high trusting in the mercies and grace of a God that is far bigger than my journey.
I’ll look forward to your next post… No pressure though, I have some catching up to do
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I’m sorry to know you are hostage to an untenable path…only God can make such experiences bearable, I find. Case in point, yesterday, I had to make the decision to let Frosty keep sleeping. I took him to the vet first thing yesterday morning because he became really lethargic and weak, Sunday.
Blood work revealed that my sweet boy was suffering from kidney failure, so let the vet know that I didn’t want him treated only to have him decline and suffer, shortly thereafter. She agreed that it was compassionate to euthanize him…which was comforting…she validated that this gut-wrenching was evidence of great love…leaving me no room for second guessing myself. I left work at 1:30 today, in order to get an early start on an early-night’s sleep. God is granting me the grace to face my grief head on (which will make the healing process as long as is natural–rather than prolonging it due to taking dead-end detours). I am praying for you my friend…
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