This blog is about a writer's life. A writer who is also a Mom, a cook, a friend, a lover, a wife, the president of a new gourmet sea salt company, a gardener, a Grandmother, a 23 year survivor of my own interior design business (a blog unto itself) and an all-round observer of life.
I discovered my love of writing in the third grade. I wrote a story about a submarine that could talk. Did I mention I also had a vivid imagination? My teacher loved it and had me read the story over the PA system to the entire school! In that one event, I experienced the exhilaration of acclaim by one's peers and I was hooked! Writing was fun!
Growing up, I remember watching and observing everyone around me. It seemed a very natural way to begin building my own perceptions of life and even though I did not realize it at the time, I was putting together an entire portfolio of events, problems and ironies, quirks and introspects, dark struggles and vivid humor, human foibles and strengths to weave into the characters I would create one day.
I watched everyone around me, not in a creepy voyeuristic way, but rather a sort of mental note-taking way. I found everyone and everything fascinating- especially observing the people I admired. One such person was Nell. She was elegant and beautiful with long black hair and large gray-blue eyes. She was equally sweet, intelligent, spoke fluent French, studied in Paris, was graceful and had a great sense of humor. The first time I met her, I hated her.
We were visiting at my Aunt's home in Indiana. I was 6 years old and Nell was dating my cousin Bill who resembled, and I'm not kidding, Rock Hudson with dimples! I was secretly madly in love with him. But at six, I felt completely inadequate to do anything about it. One evening during our visit, he stopped in for a few minutes to say hello. He was with a beautiful girl, and when he introduced Nell as his girlfriend, I suddenly felt horrible, as though the universe had collapsed around me and that suddenly I had turned into a garden gnome...or worse! I inched slowly out of the room and within seconds, found myself hiding behind my Aunt's chair in the living room, crying my "feeling horrible about being six" eyes out.
I am happy to report, however, that several months later, when Nell called my mother and asked if I would be her flower girl in their wedding, I was immediately swept up into a glorious world of white satin and lace, my first full-length dress and a starring role that I embraced with every ounce of my Cinderella being. In that exact moment, Nell went from evil adversary to fairy princess and my own personal idle.
Who we meet and who we are when we meet them is often a life-altering moment. You never know when you shake hands, if someone is going to move your world in ways you never dreamed possible, making each encounter an adventure and an opportunity to add an intriguing new character in your book!
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Your memory of Nell struck a chord with me. I, too, had crushes when I was six. I love that you empathize with your six-year-old self, when so often children's feelings are belittled. Thanks for making me smile. :)
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate what you said because I am similar to you in the sense that I observe everything and everyone around me. I have done this my entire life, sometimes without realizing it.
ReplyDeleteI also appreciate your love of writing. I will be graduating from undergrad school in May and throughout my college experience, I have fallen in love with writing. Although I'm only 22, I have had many life experiences. For that reason, I love Lifewriting and inspiring others through my observations, if you will, on life.
Have you written any books, or do you enjoy casual writing? I am hoping to have a book published someday in the future. I'm not quite sure where to start, but I know what I want my book to be about. I was thinking about entering a few contests here and there for short stories and such. I thought that may be a good step to take.