Ellyn Oaksmith's Blog, page 23
January 17, 2012
Snow Days
Here in Seattle, a few inches of snow is cause to shut down, freak out and raid the stores as if we've been hit by terrorists. Children rejoice because school, at some point, will be cancelled. After a few days of the kids destroying the floors, scattering wet clothes everywhere, eating us out of house and home and expecting to stay home for the rest of their natural lives, we parents are done and so is that bottle of wine. It's time for our children to move to the Mid-west and learn what real snow looks like. Midwestern transplants love to laugh at us. Seattle-ites are snow wimps. Yes, I can say that because I am a born and bred Seattle girl. Despite all this, I agree with my dog: it's fun to watch it, play in it, eat it and forget about every day life. Let it snow!
January 10, 2012
Writing with a Broken Arm
You've all seen it: the terrified writer in movies facing a blank screen, the blinking cursor taunting him/her saying "Loser! Who cares what you have to say? It's all been written before. What can you possibly add to the human experience that hasn't been said by far smarter people?" Yes, that's what it's like to turn on the computer on a bad day.
Try breaking your arm. Then you have to get through the most painful things: feeding yourself (and kids), working out (which is now walking) dressing (which makes you sweat with pain) and then, wondering why you are procrastinating because .... writing causes pain.
And then when my 90 pound dog dragged me after a squirrel, causing me to whisper expletives with kindergartners passing by, I complained to the nice crossing guard lady at my daughter's school. "I hope those kids didn't hear me. I was in a lot of pain," I told her. She asked about my arm. When I was done whining, I asked about her Christmas. "Oh, my husband passed away in November," she replied. "So it wasn't that good."
So that's what this blog will be about... why I have to write humor. Because I am that woman who complains about her arm fracture, sustained while ice skating, to the woman dealing with losing her husband after a protracted battle with cancer. Uh-huh. And I do stuff like that all the time. My next update will probably be after my husband's office party...
Happy New Year!
Try breaking your arm. Then you have to get through the most painful things: feeding yourself (and kids), working out (which is now walking) dressing (which makes you sweat with pain) and then, wondering why you are procrastinating because .... writing causes pain.
And then when my 90 pound dog dragged me after a squirrel, causing me to whisper expletives with kindergartners passing by, I complained to the nice crossing guard lady at my daughter's school. "I hope those kids didn't hear me. I was in a lot of pain," I told her. She asked about my arm. When I was done whining, I asked about her Christmas. "Oh, my husband passed away in November," she replied. "So it wasn't that good."
So that's what this blog will be about... why I have to write humor. Because I am that woman who complains about her arm fracture, sustained while ice skating, to the woman dealing with losing her husband after a protracted battle with cancer. Uh-huh. And I do stuff like that all the time. My next update will probably be after my husband's office party...
Happy New Year!
