Today, let’s explore memory! Write a haibun that alludes to memory, any way you construe it.
When I was young and watched Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” for the first time, it didn’t scare me. This was because I had made friends with birds long before. I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t joyfully aware of, and assured by, their presence. Today as I stepped outdoors, my ears automatically scanned for birdsongs. They always have. I cannot count the number of times I’ve interrupted conversations to acknowledge them. Once during my day care years, a grandmother of one of my kids told me that her little grandson had grabbed her arm during a walk and had yanked her to a stop saying, “Hear that? That’s Mr. Blue Jay, Grandma!” She also added, “I have no doubt that came from you.”
Bird songs remind me Of heartfelt captured moments. Children grow too fast.
Rory, as usual, has offered a few interesting questions.
Should we fear the arrival of more progressive AI [Artificial Intelligence] or embrace it?
As with most things, cautious fascination is my default. It’s the same way I approach thunderstorms. They are wonderous, awe-inspiring, events but shouldn’t be met with careless disregard for their dangerous capability. Given that…my worry mainly lies with the ‘all for profit’ type of human innovators who time-after-time throw caution to the wind. A quote from Jurassic Park that fits this well is, “The scientists were so concerned with whether they COULD, they never asked if they SHOULD.”
How much time do you spend sitting each day?
Sometimes a lot (reading or blogging) and sometimes so little (from gardening or doing errands) that my body aches. I guess that balances out over time as a healthy lifestyle.
What is your proudest accomplishment? [Having Children not included]
Being an excellent childcare provider. I built a wonderful reputation and took my role of inspiring and teaching kids farther than what some might consider “babysitting”. Kindergarten teachers approached me on a few occasions expressing how well prepared and skilled ‘my kids’ were and knowing new kids each September had spent their ‘tender years’ under my tutelage made them happy. Some family members of ‘my kids’ have also reached out to tell me how pleased they were by what they had noticed the kids had learned. That included manners, life-skills, and being curious.
Are/Were you the youngest, middle, oldest or only child?
I have been interested in ‘birth order’ theory for a long time. Some psychologists believe that one’s birth order plays a crucial role in each of our personalities. The little day care ‘families’ (keep in mind that many of the kids spent more wakeful hours with me than at home) that grew up in my care often scrambled that dynamic by placing ‘oldest’ children in a group where they were the ‘youngest’, and so on. I was all in on “Birth Order Theory” at one time. And I DO think birth order plays a part in the rate at which kids mature. BUT, after years of my own curious study, I’m now convinced that most of our temperament and natural inclinations come from inborn tendencies. Our DNA has done much of the decision making. I could go on and on about my real-life observations, but I’ll spare you. LOL
I am the oldest child of three. I was also the oldest grandchild on BOTH sides. I got a slathering of attention for sure.
Your prompt for #JusJoJan and Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “out of the box.” Write about the first thing that comes to mind when you think “out of the box.” Enjoy!
This prompt brought back a delightful memory! My normal tendency to wax philosophically has been interrupted for this public service announcement to grandmas and childcare givers.
During my childcare years, I became a children’s programing connoisseur. Around the year 2000, I had a favorite program that the kids and I watched. It was called Out of the Box and was produced by Disney. I haven’t thought of it in years! It had storytelling, music, and art projects that were wonderful. One segment, in particular, came to mind because I couldn’t help but dance to it. Upon revisiting it… I still needed to dance! I posted it for y’all below.
The cast, content, and messages in this delightful show was excellent and I hope anyone who is lucky enough to be in the presence of young kids (and still has a happy, silly, heart) will look it up on YouTube. There are full episodes available. You won’t be disappointed.
I can’t imagine where children’s programming has gone lately. I’m confident its better days are behind us. Happy Saturday friends! Let’s dance. ❤
Today I want you to write about a time you looked up and saw. . .something. If nothing comes to mind, then look up now. What do you see? Write a haibun about it. ___________________________
“BOOM!” Out of nowhere, an extremely close clap of thunder shook my bones. It was the kind that crackled as it dissipated. Four pairs of bewildered, less than 5-year-old, eyes looked up examining my face for my reaction. Keenly aware of my role as an interpreter and guardian, I smiled and said, “Whoa guy! What do you think those angels dropped this time?”. A cacophony, almost as intense as the thunder, surrounded me with suggestions: “A bowling ball!” “I think it’s a statue that gots tipped over!” “It’s a bookcase one of them was climbing on! I heard papers falling like when I did that!” “Oh no it’s not. It sounds just like my Daddy’s hammer smashing a window when Mommy locks him out!” Luckily, not a moment later, a series of quick flashes changed the subject until the same child, who was just exposing sensitive family business, spoke again, “Yep. I was right! There’s Mommy’s shooting our fireworks back at Daddy!”
Seedlings grow on a promise Spring’s hopeful bounty Fated to weather some storms
[The fireworks and hammer are fictitious but the reaction of children when startled and their humorous tendency to expose and embellish stories about their parents during my family daycare years, are quite true.]
I took a high school ‘mini course’ about comedy years ago. Yes, the high school I went to was an excellent one. As seniors, we were allowed to elect courses for our English classes after we each took one quarter on Critical Analysis Writing. The realization that comedy and tragedy were often separated by a very thin line, always stuck with me. Across the many years of child family day care, we had a lot of fun. Sometimes, we had some real funnies. Here’s a true tale that fits squarely into that comic/tragic realm.
My husband has his own happy little Christmas Tradition. As Christmas grows close, he likes to sit in our vehicle, after dark, and listen to Christmas Carols while having a few beers. If its snowing, that makes it all the better. One night, he got his perfect wish and enjoyed his solitary Christmas tribute while stashing his beers in a snowbank beside the truck keeping them icy cold. It was snowing so, when he policed the area before coming indoors, he overlooked a beer. The next day, a 5, 6, and 7, year old went out beyond our driveway to slide in the brand new snow on my delightfully hilly backyard. When they came in for cocoa, they were giggling wildly and I smelled a strong odor of beer! This was that kind of day care moment when your heart stops. Come to find out, they hadn’t drank any beer but had found the beer and poked at it with a shovel. It was close to frozen and when they punctured it, the beer had sprung a pressurized fountain of foamy spray covering them head to toe.
Imagine the fun I had explaining that reeking odor of beer on the children to their parents! Just so you know, they ALL laughed out loud.
Many smiles for me last week, especially yesterday. It was my birthday. My grown up married former day care friend, now friend, texted me from Australia. He’s studying to be a Veterinarian and has been there for two of four years. He never forgets. Another adult (age 21) former day care friend also contacted me with an old photo of us from long ago. It was of us celebrating a birthday.
I had lunch with my kids and granddaughters. Which always makes a Mom/Grandma happy! Finally, my son is a chef at a local bistro and surprised me with a fancy dessert that he brought home after hours. It’s called Coconut Cake with Mango Curd and Pineapple. YUMMY! It would have been even prettier if it wasn’t in a take-out container.
Oh… many local birds kept me company while I sipped coffee on a lovely birthday morning outside. Doves, robins, sparrows, blue jays, crows, and a persistent cardinal who serenaded me for twenty minutes. MY heart is full!
Since so many other online writers have blogs dedicated to their writings, I’ve decided to jump onto the bandwagon. All posts published here will be either fiction or poetry, some new, and some previously published on various places on the Internet. Some of my works are conventional, and some are quirky. All fiction posted here, except for fan fiction, will include the letters "rose" somewhere, as a tribute to my Baba.
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