... having another writer in the house - one who TOTALLY GETS the thrilling possibilities of a blank page in a composition book, the wonderful smell of a new ink pen, my writing inspiration playlists (and has same taste in music, which is the best kind of bonus)....
Since she was in kindergarten, my 7-year-old has dreamed of winning her school's Imaginations creativity contest. There's a range of mediums to choose from - art, photography, short stories, etc. In kindergarten, when the theme was announced, she was so excited she planned on entering in every category.
It's a project without parent involvement, so I provided whatever materials she would need, then gave her space to do her creative little thing. Gracie had big plans - huge - and knew it would possibly take all the weeks allotted to complete her projects. That only excited her more, and she worked every day after school....
And then her friends began handing in their own finished projects, and Gracie seemed to realize there was a chance she might not win.
With that, she was done. She set down her art supplies, looked indifferent, and insisted, "I don't have to enter. It's not homework. It's just if people want to. And I don't want to anymore."
When Gracie digs in her heels, she goes NOWHERE. Not the tiniest millimeter further, no matter how much encouraging and cheering Will and I are doing on the sidelines. (Sometimes being a parent sucks)
I was so mad. I tried not to be. Being mad at her certainly doesn't help at all. Besides, she's exactly like me, EXACTLY. And when I dig in my heels because of self-doubt, that's that.
Also, I learn from example, and she does, too. So after the contest passed for the SECOND year, and she still didn't enter because she was still too afraid to lose, and I was once again MAD, I told her that I was going to enter a short story contest - even though short stories aren't really my area of expertise. The winner of a contest I'd been toying with the idea of entering would be published, and that sounded like a mighty nice prize. And I told her that in second grade, no matter what, she had to enter her school's contest.
Gracie was intrigued by the idea of me entering a contest, too, and promised she would. I updated her on my short story-writing status for weeks. When my story was done, she watched me chew off my nails as I entered. A couple weeks later, the winners were announced and I wasn't among them. I was disappointed and she was the cutest thing as she hugged me, and let me know it would be okay (Most of the time, being a parent doesn't suck). She watched me get over it, sit at my computer, and get back to work.
Weeks ago, the contest at her school was announced, the theme being Elect to be Excellent! She remembered her promise, and took it all very seriously, sketching out pictures of kids being excellent by acing spelling tests, and considering possible short story ideas. Annelie entered in the K-1st grade Art division, but two days before the deadline, Gracie still wasn't sure what to do about her half-finished pieces. She was already talking about the other kids winning, and I worried, once again, that she would lose to self-doubt.
So I dug in my heels. "Either finish a project you are working on and possibly win, or turn it in unfinished and definitely lose. It's your choice, but YOU ARE ENTERING," I said. (breathing fire. I can be scary)
And it worked! Gracie tossed out every unfinished, hated thing she'd begun and grabbed her notebook - which she is never without. Starting fresh, she wrote the most brilliant poem!
I love getting song recs from my mom, and Radioactive, by Imagine Dragons is the latest.
I like it. My favorite part, however is the video, which reminds me of something straight out of Annelie's wacky, creative little mind.
Just so you know, my childhood teddy would totally annihilate all those critters.
Before owning dogs, I didn't realize how disgusting animals could be. Not that I was completely naive when I adopted them. I mean, I once saw a puppy do his little puppy business, eat it, throw it up, and then eat that...
But that was a one off, right? Just a confused little puppy.
Then we adopted Willie, our old, blind German shepherd, and... well, let me just say I thought our kittens needed a trip to the vet because the litter box was empty the first entire week we had them. But then Willie came up to me for a rump scratching and wouldn't you know it, there were flecks of kitty litter stuck to the wet of his nose.
DOGS EAT POO.
It's true, folks. They really eat poo.
Along
with EVERYTHING else -- everything dead and smelly and disgusting, like telephone line-fried squirrels, and entire bags of potting soil that have been enriched with chicken manure. And when it makes them sick... well, they eat that, too.
Honestly, after five years with this dog, I didn't think there was anything left for him to eat that would gross me out.
Ha! Naive, I certainly am! Because today, folks, Willie reached a new low:
