C.B. Potts's Blog, page 13

Tuesday Morning, Thus Far

It is raining, intermittently, as if the world were a green house and the clouds the sprinkler system. Which, of course, they are. What arrogant monkeys we are to see nature's mechanisms and even suspect she is following our lead.

Everything has grown overnight. Nadia went to bed a fifth grader and arose in sixth; it seems as if she's gained an inch or two in the transition. The little herons are flying in over the swamp. They come in low, so their gray feather tips almost brush the sh...

Monday Morning: Just a Thought

So I have attended the last elementary school awards ceremony I am ever likely to go to, at least until I am a grandmother. Nadia took high honors; she has a lovely plaque with her name engraved on it. This weekend was a fast, fun clusterfuck that left me very behind on everything; I am going to pretend that I'm not obnoxiously behind on everything now. What gets done, gets done, and what doesn't, will get done tomorrow. Onward, upward, forward, y'all. None of this really matters...

Friday Morning: Writing Prompt Exercise

In 1963, on a hot July day, Eddie was riding his ten speed. It was red, thin, and fast: he had to bend over to grip the handlebars properly, curving his long, thin frame into an aerodynamic arc. No one had a bike like that then, out here in the mountains. As far as Eddie knew, no one wanted one. They teased him about it at school. Even the guys at Dad's garage would laugh a little when he stopped by with it.

Eddie didn't care. It was such a fast bike. Riding it felt like flying. He'd...

Thursday Afternoon

My brain is tired. We went down to Mom's Tuesday morning, spent the day, went to the memorial service, which was important but as expected tough, back to Mom's, and then up and out and on the road before 5 in the morning. Easy drive home, missed rush hour entirely. Been working ever since - when I was down there, one of my clients let me know we need a 30 page ebook for Friday, yipes, and also, I have regular work that needs doing - and there hasn't been much left for anything els...

Tuesday Morning, Thus Far

Time is slipping away from me, and I'm really not sure where it's going. I lost all day yesterday to little administrative things and got no actually work done (except for sending a story submission off, two meetings, & a social media deck - my days where I don't feel like I do anything actually contain quite a bit of work) Today Nadia and I are headed to Mom's, & from there to the Memorial Service for my Uncle and then sleep and then wee back home in a whirlwind trip...

Friday Morning: Critical Components of Not Screaming

Here are some things I've found in my blanket fort:

What is causing my pain is my attachment to the idea of another as a good person. People may be good, they may be bad, but my thoughts/feelings about their status either way are actually irrelevant. We live in the world as it is, not the world as we wish it would be. My attachment is something I'm in charge of.
I have very, very strong opinions on what it means to be a Mother. Not to get all Jungian here, but MZB's actions are an a...

Thursday Morning - Just a thought

I am incandescently angry at Marion Zimmer Bradley right now. So much so that I can't actually write about it. On top of a bunch of other things (you know, I don't think our country is capable of surviving ten more years like this and even if we do, global warming & ISIS) it is too much. So I will be back on Monday, and not screaming until then.

The Mists of Avalon shaped who I am. And in a way, that's funny, because almost all of the pivotal thought processes that made me who...

Tuesday Morning - Writing Prompt Exercise

When we were in Vermont one day, stopping at this yard sale and that one, a slow, acquisitional tour, I saw a woman. She was not too tall and not too stout; her hair more steel than gray and short. She wore a navy fleece and jeans and Birkenstocks. I liked her instantly because she walked with purpose. It took her only a half dozen strides - long, confident - to cross the church yard. There she stood, facing Mary. She closed her eyes, laid her hand atop Mary's head, and for a moment praye...

Monday Morning: Special Writing Prompt Exercise

Today I have a special prompt, as Nadia is home with me for Job Shadowing Day. She has picked the topic How To Use Money Wisely.

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Just this morning, my dear friend Ashley shared a quote from her Mother. "Don't be too careful with money or it will all be spent on hamburger."  Everything you need to know about my financial philosophy is articulated beautifully right there. If you aren't aggressively proactive about seeking joy and happiness in your life, you will spend e...

Sunday Morning: Writing Prompt Exercise

You'd think that someone who spends so much time and energy trying to ignore the world as it really is would welcome a blindfold. You would be wrong. I hate it, hate it the minute the blue bandana goes round my head, knotted softly at the back of my head - I want to be able to see everything, to know what's coming. But Anne's promised me a good time, and she hasn't lied to me yet.

They say that when you lose your sight, all of your other senses improve. You can smell more, hear...