Month: March 2023

Doxie Love

Published on by Ann Marie Bryant3 Comments

What tattoo do you want and where would you put it?

In the past, I never thought I would actually start thinking about getting a tattoo. But this grammie has been contemplating the idea. I even have a picture of what I want, and it’s saved on my phone, “just in case.” Location? Well shoulder, inner wrist, ankle…

My pups are my muse in this endeavor. Love my doxies.

When You Lose Security

Published on by Ann Marie Bryant4 Comments

What makes you most anxious?

Since the pandemic, I have sensed such a shift away from kindness and respect. Some people often seem to be angry all the time, or they feel as though they are entitled to behave in certain ways. Just this week I experienced this attitude twice in my everyday life. First, before I got my cold, yes my students got me again..lol..I went to my local YMCA to do water aerobics. The therapy pool was packed, but it had a place in the corner where I could work out. I had been working out for at least ten minutes when this lady who had been working out at the other end of the pool came swimming toward me. Her friend told her that she was about to plow into me, and her response was, “I don’t care. I was here first.”

My second occurrence happened while I was at home and resting. I felt awful. I had someone start knocking loudly on my door. The guy even tried opening my front door! When I didn’t respond, he went around to the side of the house and started banging on the garage door, and he tried opening it too. By then this granny had enough. I went to the door, told him I had called the sheriff, gave them his vehicle description and license plates, and the sheriff was on their way. He started screaming at me when I told him I called the sheriff’s department, and I told him this was his cue to leave. When he tried to intimidate me, I told him to go before I called my crazy neighbor that had an arsenal and years of combat training. That got his attention, and he finally left my property.

I hate living in a time when I no longer even feel safe in my own home. I hate that I feel uncomfortable when I go on road trips or “glamping” because I never know if I will meet a crazy person on the road. It has happened twice before on my travels. But now in my home, this latest incident has me troubled. Not sure what the answer is in a situation like this. Friends and family want me to get a handgun or at the very least a stun gun, but I don’t like that answer either. In the meantime, I am adding some security measures to my home, and I am hoping that it will provide some peace. I just want my home to feel like my haven once again.

Very Superstitious

Published on by Ann Marie Bryant2 Comments

Are you superstitious?

I really wish I could say no, I am not superstitious, but I have my moments. I grew up in a haunted house, and when the tea kettle would boil water on its own and then whistle, mom would make instant coffee, and I would often make a cup of tea. After all, “someone” had gone to all that trouble.

The Ghost on Lincoln Avenue

Buckle Up!

Published on by Ann Marie Bryant2 Comments

You’re writing your autobiography. What’s your opening sentence?

So many lines… I could borrow the words from Deanna Carter’s song, “Did I Shave my Legs for This?” Or I could begin with The Chicks (previously known as the Dixie Chicks) line, “She needs wide open spaces. Room to make her big mistakes…”

Or I could just come up with my own one-liner. So here we go…

Buckle up, buttercup, for I have a tale for you!

Did I Shave my Legs for This?

Flowers and wine
Is what I thought I would find
When I came home from workin’ tonight.
Well, now here I stand
Over this fryin’ pan
And you want a cold one again.

I bought these new heels’
Did my nails, had my hair done just right.
I thought this new dress was a sure bet
For romance tonight.
Well it’s perfectly clear
Between the TV and beer
I won’t get so much as a kiss.
As I head for the door
I turn around to be sure

Did I shave my legs for this?

Wide Open Spaces

Who doesn’t know what I’m talking about?
Who’s never left home? Who’s never struck out?
To find a dream and a life of their own
A place in the clouds, a foundation of stone

Many precede and many will follow
A young girl’s dreams no longer hollow
It takes the shape of a place out West
But what it holds for her, she hasn’t yet guessed

She needs wide open spaces
Room to make her big mistakes
She needs new faces
She knows the high stakes

Photo by Ali Kazal on Unsplash

Encounters

Published on by Ann Marie Bryant4 Comments

What experiences in life helped you grow the most?

In my life, I have experienced three significant events that helped me grow in unexpected ways. The first was my divorce so many years ago. When it ended, I felt every emotion possible. Betrayal. Anger. Disappointment. A whole range of emotions. But truth be told, I also experienced freedom once the pain ended. My joy returned, and so did hope. An exciting new world opened before me. Until my marriage ended, I never realized how trapped I felt in that relationship. Now, I would never trade my inner peace for the contentment I have found; I love single life!

College also changed my life. It opened doors and provided so many unique opportunities. I found my voice through writing essays and poetry, and I even had some published! Years later, I picked up the pen again as I wrote about my family history and the stories I discovered along the way. Several years ago, I started a family blog and found family and new friends in the process. In time, my latest adventure grew into creative writing when I began writing poetry and a few short stories. It also gave me a career. Throughout the years, I have enjoyed teaching middle school students. As a reading and writing teacher, I have also learned so many things about this world in which we live. Teaching has been the most challenging job I have ever had, but it has also been the most rewarding, and I will always be grateful for this time in my life.

And for the last adventure, I could never say how wonderful it has been to be a part of such an amazing, fun-loving family. I have loved being a mother to my wonderful daughter, Leslie, a mom-in-law to “my son,” Aaron, and a grandmother to my seven grandchildren, Mathew, Cameron, Sierra, Jessie, Kylie, Connor, and Jaxon. My family will always be my greatest blessing. And the best part is that it’s not over yet! As retirement looms closer, I see new adventures on the horizon. I envision great-grandbabies and sweet moments as my family expands. What a crazy and wonderful rollercoaster of a ride this life has been!

Visions

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During certain moments of her life, the elderly woman would often leave her village, Auldearn, and seek solace in a wooded area near the River Nairn. The trees and the streams spoke to her, and the night skies often gave her hope when all hope, it seemed, had fled. And tonight, she needed hope. She needed a vision. The elderly woman sat on a blanket on the ground and shivered in the night air. Isla was grateful for the small fire, for the fall evening was cool, but soon, the blaze would chase the autumn chill.

Isla stood and moved around the fire, slowly at first, but the blaze from the fire seemed to draw her into a rhythm of its own, and her movements quickened. The woodsy smoke embraced her, and she moved in step with its shadowy figure. Her mind raced, and flashes and images of the people she loved and lost shimmered before her. A husband’s last stand in battle. Her mother’s final moment in childbirth. Her father’s last breath on his deathbed. A son drowned in the River Nairn. A favorite sister married and far removed from her homeland. But the vision of her daughter, Mairi, made her drop to her knees, and the old woman wailed. And when she could lament no longer, she softly whispered, “Mairi” over and over until her soft words sounded like a plea, a supplication, a petition to right the wrongs committed against her child. And hope, she knew, would flee on this dark night. It had been a stranger for far too long. Isla felt lost and alone; sorrowfully, the woman hung her head and softly wept. She grieved for all she lost and mourned for all she loved.

Writing Prompt:

Dreams. But on this particular night, they spot something … interesting.

Photo by Sumit Saharkar on Unsplash