Here Goes Nothing...

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. If you don't try, you'll never know. Or something like that.

I'm challenging myself this month. There's a 31 Day Challenge, spearheaded by The Nester. And Kate from Five Minute Friday has added a twist which I love. Write all 31 posts in 5 minutes each. Considering I am usually 6.75 days late to the Five Minute Friday prompt each week, 31 days IN A ROW is daunting. But, perhaps 5 minutes a day for 31 days is manageable. Perhaps. Most of the writers pick a theme. I don't know if I have that in me yet. However, Kate has saved the day. She made a prompt list. She's using it to write 31 days of life in South Africa.  I am using the SAME list so that I can take a stab at actually writing for 31 days in a row. (32 if you count today. HA!)

So ... thanks Kate for making it a little less scary for me to test the waters. We shall see if a theme emerges in my 31 days of 5 minute free writes.

For now, I am excited to try it out. So thanks for reading along with me!

**Here are the prompts from Kate. If I am super coordinated, I will remember to hyperlink all my posts below. As they come. (and add the words for the TBD when we get them)  note: no guest post for me.

Wed. Oct. 1 — Day 1 :: Move  
Thurs. Oct. 2 — Day 2 :: View
Fri. Oct. 3 — Day 3 :: NEW
Sat. Oct. 4 — Day 4 :: Learn
Sun. Oct. 5 — Day 5 :: Stuck
Mon. Oct. 6 — Day 6 :: Know
Tues. Oct. 7 — Day 7 :: Go
Wed. Oct. 8 — Day 8 :: Say
Thurs. Oct. 9 — Day 9 :: Join
Fri. Oct. 10 — Day 10 :: Care
Sat. Oct. 11 — Day 11 :: Teach
Sun. Oct. 12 — Day 12 :: Rest
Mon. Oct. 13 — Day 13 :: Work
Tues. Oct. 14 — Day 14 :: Away
Wed. Oct. 15 — Day 15 :: Life
Thurs. Oct. 16 — Day 16 :: Adjust
Fri. Oct. 17 — Day 17 :: Long
Sat. Oct. 18 — Day 18 :: Taste
Sun. Oct. 19 — Day 19 :: Honor
Mon. Oct. 20 — Day 20 :: Fear
Tues. Oct. 21 — Day 21 :: Second
Wed. Oct. 22 — Day 22 :: Guest post (Prompt TBA)
Thurs. Oct. 23 — Day 23 :: Look
Fri. Oct. 24 — Prompt revealed Oct. 23 at 10pm EST for Five Minute Friday
Sat. Oct. 25 — Day 25 :: Enjoy
Sun. Oct. 26 — Day 26 :: Visit
Mon. Oct. 27 — Day 27 :: Free
Tues. Oct. 28 — Day 28 :: Wake
Wed. Oct. 29 — Day 29 :: Unite
Thurs. Oct. 30 — Day 30 :: First
Fri. Oct. 31 — Day 31 :: Prompt revealed Oct. 30th at 10pm EST

Hold (Five Minute Friday)

It's time for Five Minute Friday. Where we link with Kate, after we write for 5 minutes on whatever comes to mind with the word.

This week the word is hold. (Last week. I'm late, catching up before the new one).

HOLD

Last week my 6 year old was the "star of the week." This entails making a poster with pictures of your favorite things, your family, places you like to go, etc. it hangs in the front of the class all week. Then on Friday the student presents the poster and explains everything to the class. The other students then get to ask questions. The teacher coaches them on how to ask questions to the star, rather then adding "oh, I went to Florida, too, that's cool" kind of comments. They are trying to learn that the world is bewigged than themselves and their own experiences.

As you can imagine A had a lot of baseball stuff on her poster. She's her mama's daughter. One of the students asked her "do you have any of those bobblehead things?" She proceeded to list them all. (We have a lot). And the teacher remarked, that's very impressive that you have that whole list in your brain.

Later that day, A asked me ... "Mama, how do we decide what we hold in our brain? I know it can't hold everything. Some stuff falls out."

What a great opportunity. I told her our brains hold what we practice, what we study. What we make time for, what we decide is important.

"Hmmm, mama. Like baseball?" Yes... But what else sweetie? "Family. Hmmm. And school. I guess I can hold some spelling. And... Hmmm. And I guess I can hold some math. You hold a lot of math mom. And Jesus, we can definitely hold Him and the bible in there."

Bingo. Some stuff is sinking in. And I'm reminded... Am I practicing the right stuff to hold in me? Or is the important stuff falling out?

Ready (Five Minute Friday)

Here's how it works. Write on the word. Link up with Kate and then visit your buddy who linked before you. Your Five Minute Friday neighbor. And leave that writer a little encouragement!!  

Ready. HA! It is 2 hours before the new prompt and I am only now sitting to write on last week's word, READY.

So, of course I am not ready. Really I never am. But when I think of ready this week, it brings baseball to my mind. My team, the Washington Nationals just clinched the National League East regular season title. WOOT! and in the process, Tyler Clippard pitched the 8th inning. His walk out music (when he comes out of the bullpen in DC) is "Ready or Not" by the Fugees.

Whenever we play hide and seek or tag or whatever thing the girls have dreamed up when we play outside, we start with "Ready or not..." and they crack up and say "Mama, that is Clippy's song. That makes us happy!!" I love how little things from the game show up in our every day lives. How phrases or tunes or colors permeate what we do and everything triggers a connection.

S (my 9 year old) tells me that this is what they practice in language arts. Text-to-text connections (how a book reminds you of something else you've read) and text-to-self connections (how something you read reminds you of something in your real life). She calls this life-to-Nats connections. When we see or do something and it reminds us of our baseball team.

So this week, we are READY. Ready for the playoffs to begin. Ready for some Nationals magic. Ready to stand up and cheer. Because as they're saying in DC this year ..."It's happening folks!" "YEAH BABY"

Whisper (Five Minute Friday)

Long hiatus. Life happens. Vacation, back to school, whatever. So I am starting ON TIME today. And will backfill. Maybe I can binge-write?

I think this is maybe my first actual week linking with our new lovely hostess, Kate. If not, well, then I wrote more recently than I remember.

New hostess, but same great rules.
1. Write 5 minutes on the prompt. Don't edit. Just pour out whatever you have for 5 minutes.
2. Link up with all the rest of us over here in Kate's yard.
3. **The ONE UNBREAKABLE RULE** visit the one who posted before you and leave a little encouragement. That's how we all get through our days.

This week: WHISPER

Ha! funny. Whisper. This is what I said to myself ALL NIGHT. well, for the 45 minutes that my 9yo decided to tell me she didn't want to snuggle with me ever again and she was running away to Paris - to eat chocolate and ice cream and NOT SHARE. She did not whisper. But I did. I just kept repeating the same message. I love you and you still need to go to bed. And she yelled and yelled. And I just whispered the same. She could hear me. She stopped. She listened. She hollered some more.

And then, eventually she gave up. The whisper of love from mom, no matter what she tried to do to derail me, was the same. Thank you Lord for grace to have held my tongue tonight. And then after she gave up. Fell asleep in an exhausted heap .. she rolled over. Realized she wasn't in bed. She crept carefully out of her bedroom, came to find me.

"Mama? I am sorry. It was a tough night. I know I said not to snuggle me in the morning. But will you? Please?"

and I whispered yes, and gave her a hug. And all is well in my house.

Sweet dreams.