I, along with my best friend and partner in crime Kara, started a writer’s group.  This Sunday, we had our second meeting and did some writing exercises just to get the creative juices flowing.  I’m posting the first one today and the second one tomorrow.  I thought they turned out well and I’m trying to decide if either/both should be fleshed out into full-fledged stories.  What do YOU think?  Here is the first one.  The working title is Kayaking.

     My eyes flew open as I vomited creek water and algae. My lungs were on fire as I sucked in as much oxygen as I could. I slurped and gasped in the air, my chest rising and falling violently, the spasmodic movements gradually subsiding as I continued to breath. For a few seconds, everything went black once more.

     Coming to, I slowly raised my head and my gaze rested on five heads clustered around me in a circle. The gravity of the situation suddenly became clear, and I wretched once more. Angry salty tears rained down, and I wiped them from my face along with the last streaks of stomach acid. A voice I didn’t recognize began to speak to me.

     “Are you okay, Bonnie? Do you remember anything?”

     My mind began to spin in reverse. The kayak had overturned and I struggled in the rushing water. I did the one thing they said never to do in the safety class and I stood in the shallow water looking to get my bearings before swimming to safety. I felt the shift of rock crush my foot. I couldn’t get it loose. Wave after wave crashed into me, the current swirling around my ankles like a snake, tripping me, sending me backwards.  As I tried to stand, the water smashed into my face again and again. There was no air, not enough air, and my head grew dizzy and light.

     My thoughts had screamed, I don’t want to die here, please dear god, not while kayaking, I hate kayaking, I just wanted to impress a boy, please I don’t deserve to die for that.  But the water kept coming, kept sloshing into my nose and mouth, and as I kept praying, I kept dying.

“Am I alive?” I looked back and forth to the faces I didn’t recognize.

“Not quite. But you’re not quite dead either.  You have some choices to make.”

The weather has been beautiful here in Pittsburgh this week (tonight’s thunder storm being the exception.)  I have been trying to exercise more, and went to the local highschool to walk on the track.

While I walk I usually listen to my I-Pod.  However, after three songs, it ran out of juice. With the music turned off, I found myself lulled into a meditative state as I exercised my body.  I became very mindful of what was going on around me.  I enjoyed the percussive clatter of people laughing and chatting amiably as they worked together.  A father encouraged his teenage son to go one more lap before they went home.  Birdsong floated in the sky above me with a sweet clarity I normally take for granted.

I think what I found most enjoyable was the groundhogs munching voraciously on clover and small flowers.  There chubby bodies jiggled as they feasted of Mother Earth’s bounty.  If a walker or jogger got too close, they would bounce off in quick hops.  Eventually though, the lure of more green goodies enticed them back near the track.  I don’t think I’d ever taken the time to watch them before.

It’s so easy for me to get absorbed in a task to the point where I forget to notice the rest of life as it happens around me.  So I dedicate this post to the well-fed groundhogs of Montour High School. 

Lies I Used to Believe in when I was younger but Don’t Anymore

1.  I can’t be beautiful if I’m overweight.
2.  If someone is mad or mean to me, it must be my fault.
3.  If I can’t do something perfectly, then I can’t do it at all.
4.  I am not a complete woman if I’m not in a relationship.
5.  If my mother doesn’t approve of me, than I’m not allowed to approve of myself.
6.  If I like myself, someone will be offended or feel bad.
7.  I can’t be friends with my sister.
8.  If love doesn’t hurt you, then it must not be real.
9.  Only Christians are right.
10.  I can’t possibly afford to go back to college.  Besides, if I did I wouldn’t have them time.

Wow…this was a powerful thing for me, writing this list.  Some of the items made me wince a little as I read them and remembered how much some of these lies hurt me.  Now, a little bit of truth…

1.  I am so beautiful sometimes that it makes me smile.
2.  Sometimes people are angry, sometimes I am angry, and as long as no one is abusive, it’s okay to be angry once in a while.
3.  Doing something perfectly isn’t as important as trying something new.
4.  A relationship should complete your life, not BE your life.
5.  I like most things about me, but most importantly, I like knowing I have the power to change the things about me that are not useful to my growth.
6.  I love myself.  Period.
7.  My sister is the person that knows me and loves me best. 
8.  Your true love may hurt you sometimes because they are human.  Someone who hurts you most of the time is not your true love.
9.  God speaks to different people in different ways.  The people who listen to God are right.
10.  I went back to college, and by the way, I rocked.

Top Ten Things That have Happened Since Last I Blogged:

1.  Got a BFA in Professional Writing from Carlow University.  Graduated cum laude.  Yeah me!

2.  Defected to National City Bank from Citizens Bank.  The pay is better and the environment is so much more friendly.

3.  Got cat #5 (and hopefully the last one for a while!) from a friend.  Her name is Nora and she’s adorable, just like all the other babies.

4.  Went to a Frida Kahlo exhibit in Philadelphia and finally got to see the work of my favorite artist up close and not just in a book.

5.  Joined a gymn.  Will soon be looking fabulous.

6.  Started a writer’s group with my best friend Kara.  First meeting to be this weekend.

7.  Finally tried Scotch.  It’s tasty.

8.  Wrote some poems and other things of course.

9.  Gave a sermon at a Unitarian church…yes I’m serious!

10.  Did my first recital in probably ten years.

So what’s new with you?  It’s good to be back.

I’m bringing Xanga back – drop a comment if you’re with me!