Tag: bloganuary

I’ll be honest in saying that any prompt regarding family can be difficult for me, which anyone who knows me can say is true, having read my story.

That being said, I also told you yesterday that I am committed to answering each daily prompt with sincerity and honest effort. The only safe answer surfacing this morning, is Pajamas… and I will do my best to explain why.

I was born into a family that practiced a religion that forbade celebrating any secular holidays. This means no Birthdays, No Christmas, No Thanksgiving, No Valentines, No Mothers Day, No Fathers Day, etc. You should be getting the picture! The only traditions my family participated in and left in my memory banks, were ones that I’d rather not remember.

I wrote a story some time last year, regarding me trying to secretly create a Christmas tree next to my bed, on the eve of a holiday that everybody else got to celebrate except for me! 

I made a point to do this tiny tradition for several years in a row, before eventually running away from home and leaving that life behind. I was approximately 11 years old when I left that place for the last time.

The reason I share this sad bit with you is because it is linked to the only good tradition that I hold dear to my heart, even now! Christmas has to be my absolutely favorite season, bringing with it an entire world of traditions shared by many… it is heartwarming, touching, and beautiful to me.

When I was 15 years old, living in a fostering facility that kept me hidden from my family, I got my first taste of what Christmas was, being given the opportunity to spend the holiday with a very wealthy family that did things up big for C Day, if you know what I mean… it was the most love I’d ever been given by anyone, and I’m not even talking about the gifts. 

It was my first time feeling like someone had noticed the child that had been forgotten. They made me feel like I belonged there, instead of being treated like they were only babysitters. That experience started me on my journey of love with Christmas time.

I’d lived there about a year before a family, that volunteered at the home, took me home with them and fostered me for the next several years until I graduated high school and moved on. One of the things my foster mother did each Christmas morning was placing a brand new set of pajamas and a new pair of slippers, at the end of my bed. Honestly, you could have given me nothing else for a gift and I would still have been elated. There is nothing like the feeling of climbing into a pair of brand new, freshly laundered and folded pajamas… then follow that up with pulling on a fluffy soft pair of slippers to go with the jammies. To this day I have the same feeling, upon wearing a new pair of pajamas and slippers… utter bliss!

This is the one tradition that I can think of that I have always loved, continuing it’s practice with each of my three daughters, every year that they were growing… perhaps they now do this for their little ones, as well.

There ya have it folks… I answered the daily prompt, without getting too far off track down rabbit holes resting in the ditches of my memory lane.

Here, have a cookie…

I left two choices because I don’t know what everyone wears…

How do we balance work with play, if the way we work IS the way we play?

How much time does one need to feel leisure, anyway?

I know we have seen this question recently, in several other forms, which makes us question whose manning the prompt desk. I surmise that we are in the hands of an AI program, that does its best to generate questions, while not grasping enough about what the question asks, to recognize its own repetitiveness. 

This newest remake of the other recent prompts, gives me the perfect opportunity to answer the prompt… again… without repeating my previous answers. Everyone visiting my lobby should get a clear picture of the type of Writer/Christian/Woman/Barrel of Laughs I consider myself to be, most days. You never know, for sure, which one you will see on any given prompt. The reason for this wacky, fly by the seat of my pants style of writing, is because, point in fact, writing IS my leisure!

When you see the things I write, they are the result of my prayer, my study, and my fully transparent life… my joy is from sharing my world with you, each time you visit the Lobby. 

I committed myself to answering each and every prompt this year, regardless of what the question is, so I had to consider the reality of repeats, stalker probes, and nosy Prompt neighbors. In order for me to write freely, and without a moody attitude, I’ve opted to approach each prompt, with leisure… taking my time in restructuring the question however I choose, to make it fresh and real for my friends. There is no rule book for how to answer prompts, nor is there any penalty for turning it for my pleasure… it’s my leisure… my website… and my literary box to open and share with anyone wishing to stop in and visit. 

I will confess, however, in the realm of work that one also considers leisure, I am not above burn out! Even if it is pleasurable to write at such an intensive pace, after a long day of writing, my brain actually feels overly fatigued, yet still firing on all cylinders! You might laugh at this, but crazy video games are the only way for me to disconnect, fully, long enough to bring my brain and body to a place of calm and blissful rest… I call it the Numbing! 

If I don’t take a break now and again, to ride around the desert on my faithful companion Brodie, shooting imps, evil pirates and slave traders… well, I’m fairly certain that I would eventually begin looking at my writing as nothing more than work. I love what I do enough to maintain a balance of required play and leisure play… I love them both.

Be grateful that I write and play this way, or you might tire of the same old cookies day in and day out…

Speaking of cookies…

I’ve not seen any pictures yet, but I’ve heard that the streets are paved with Gold! While it is far more than an attraction, or similar to any town ever built, I am packed and ready to go to the place prepared for me! Though it may seem so far away, at times, it couldn’t be closer! The only thing I had to pack was my spirit, as my room has already been fully furnished … go figure!

“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” John 14:3

This child of God is heading for Home…

This child will be found standing at the ready, because Home is just one step away…

This world holds nothing in comparison to my true home…

Sometimes music can sing what my heart feels better than any words I might type. These songs should sufficiently reflect the place near to me, and though I’ve not been there yet, I am on my way home to the very place that the prompt asked about. So, Heaven is my answer. Your Welcome!

This child of God wishes to share my cookie with you…

Living a nomadic lifestyle, with only my husband for company most days, one could surmise that this girl doesn’t get out much! While my life seems boring and uneventful, it doesn’t mean there isn’t any fun going on!

The beautiful thing about writing is that it can go wherever I go, and often times, it roams the places I’m unable to physically transport my actual brain or body… and it’s my virtual FunVe!

I know the prompt wants five different things I do for fun, but what about five different ways of writing for fun?

Sometimes you may see things I’ve written that leave you feeling Whimsical…

Other times I share things that are Rough to accept, often poking fun at our own human behavior, hence, the cookies…

Many times I will write about things that Inspire others and/or myself…

There are times when I write things to share Truths, both mine and those of the world. One day you might read some truths that are good, some that are bad, as well as some that are ugly…

In everything that I write to and for you, my friends, I constantly strive to ensure that my words Edify the ones reading…

I don’t know about you, but I think this list of five should cover the prompt question, because it will have to do. I write because I love it and experience a great amount of fun while I’m doing it! To take words and organize them in differing ways, thereby allowing others to experience things like laughter, love, understanding and acceptance is a gift that I do not wish to waste!

Sometimes the writing is the only thing that gets me through tough times, when there is no light at the end of the tunnel to encourage me to move forward. I have seen it written many times, that the devil is in the details, but I say that the devil can choke on his own details, because God is definitely in my literary and virtual details… all of them!

I suppose if we were able to make our pets understand us, we’d have results landing on both sides of the proverbial coin! In one way it would be great if we could help our pets understand why we do some of the things we do, while on the other hand it might backfire, leading to animal world domination!

I personally don’t think it would be the best idea for us to give our pets any more information about us, as I’m not so sure that it would cause them to love us more than they already do… in fact, it might give them cause to rise up and put us in cages, just because WE pooped on the floor.

With that being said, if I could make animals understand deeper about anything humans have done, are doing, or will be doing sometime in the future… it would be to tell them we’re sorry!

Last year I had to rehome my pug of 4 years, as well as my two cats that I found under a shed when they were tiny. I waited for 3 years to get my pug, loving her ever so much… she was my baby! My sister-in-law found a batch of kittens under her porch, keeping one and handing the other two my way… I hand raised both boys from about 10 days old and I adored them! I had to make the most painful decision, last year, of rehoming all of them due to our situation… it was awful!

I guess that if it were possible, I would want to try to explain my actions, and say how sorry I am!

I pray that my choice was for the animals betterment, but it is still difficult to hold the last memories of letting go. Sometimes, doing the right thing does NOT feel good, yet it is still right! I cannot say for sure what they were feeling throughout the painful process, but if I could communicate with them, this would obviously be the conversation on the forefront of our discussion. What would they say… would they forgive me if they understood… maybe.

The best information to give our pets, in the effort of better understanding about us hoomans, would be the knowledge that we often behave in ways that don’t align with our feelings. Often times, we do the right thing for the wrong reason, while at other times, we do the wrong things for the right reasons… it’s what we do!

It’s not all bad, and I didn’t say ALL people, nor did I say ALL the time… it’s just that sometimes the numbers are stacked against us, that’s all!

There’s no way to know if I’ll ever have flurbies journeying with me again… perhaps, perhaps not! Just as our pets probably don’t plan ahead most of the time, thinking to build contingency plans for difficult situations… I would want them to know that often times, we hoomans don’t either! 

Here, I need a cookie, so you better have one too…

While I have told you in the past, regarding my nickname, Wiwohka, I draw the line at my personal information being shared worldwide! 

I tell my first name, along with anything meaningful that is attached to it… to my friends! If one of you that reads this, were to ask me what my real name is and how I got it… most likely, I would give you full disclosure, being considered one of my personal friends. 

Beyond that, you get Wiwohka as my name! Also, Google is your friend so have a nice time looking up the definition and origin all by your onesies!

If anyone is reading this prompt answer, you should hopefully have figured out by now that I don’t answer these questions for any form of Like, Share, or Repost… in honesty, you have better things to be doing in your lives, than hanging by every word this grumpy lady says. With that being said, I will say that I am committed to answering each daily prompt with a sincere heart… no flippant, smart mouthed answer that is based off of feelings alone. My goal is to think outside the box when answering, choosing to improve my writing skills… and if I’m lucky, I might make a new friend here or there to share some life, love, and happiness with inside the Journey With Me Lobby!

I leave it to you the reader, not WordPress Prompt questions, to see the ME that I am! The daily Prompt is not my friend, but those of you that visit ARE… if you ask it, I would tell you…

Here, have a cookie…

While I cannot say what age I was, when I first watched the movie “Doctor Dolittle”, I know that I knew all the way back then that I wanted to be like him!

I wanted to be able to talk to animals, as well as helping them in any way I could. This movie fueled my dreams and imagination with adventures that took me to places unreachable to most. Though the actors were only pretending, and most of the scenes were fantastical, the underlying lessons I took from this movie have stuck with me to this day!

Learning to understand any and all of Gods creatures, was a big part of the Doctors efforts in helping them… how else could he figure out what was wrong and then come up with a solution? He wasn’t magic… in fact, most of the important animals he helped, were helped by the doctor simply stealing them and releasing them into the wild! In my opinion, the whole point of Doctor Dolittle, was that he took the time to listen and learn from nature, and the animals themselves. I remember thinking that the biggest problems for the animals, usually came in the form of ignorant human interference… a world only thinking of their own interests.

All these years later, I’m finding it hard to change my answer here, leaving me to wish for more Doctor Dolittle type attitudes, here in todays current environmental and wildlife issues. Don’t get me wrong, as there are many very valuable organizations out there, dedicating everything to striking a balance between man and nature. 

If I could have a dream job, I would desire to be just like Mr. Dolittle, helping to make a difference in the animal kingdom. God placed the animals under our care, sometimes to intercede on their behalf… and sometimes to just remove ourselves, as often times, we are the very cause of natures problem! 

Don’t get your panties in a bunch, as they say, because this is just the literary pondering of a whimsical child in the body of a grown woman. It always looks easier on paper…

Have a cookie…

Look up more often…

Learn to Follow…

Then you might make a good leader!

Have a cookie…

The entire problem with un-inventing something is, unless the heart of a man chooses good over evil, we will simply un-invent one thing, only to re-invent another with the same purpose…

Try changing the mind of an emotional child… you will soon be reminded that until they feel better inside, no mind will be changing anytime soon! 

Just sayin…

Here, have a cookie…

Puppy breath! It’s intoxicating to my senses! I can’t tell you why, because it makes no sense that the breath of dog can reduce me to something akin to Tickle Me Elmo… seriously!

I’ve never experienced this feeling after my toddlers spit up sour milk down my shirt, or my partner ushered forth a burp that shook the rafters.

I have no logical explanation to explain my behavior that always follows those sloppy wet kisses… I just know that the smell of a puppy’s breath transports my emotions to a place that nothing else really compares. While I might joke about the bottling and selling of puppy breath, somehow, I don’t think it would elicit the reaction and response that I experience, unless the puppy were included… and that is too expensive to successfully sell. Plus when the puppies chewed your favorite slippers or pooped on your pillow, I do not do returns or refunds… sorry!

Here, have a cookie…