Sunday Scribblings-Holding Out For A Hero

I need a hero I’m holding on for a hero ‘til the end of the night He’s gotta be strong And he’s gotta be fast And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight I need a hero I’m holding on for a hero ‘til the morning light He’s gotta be sure And it’s gotta be soon And he’s gotta be larger than life

I clicked over to SS today and as soon as I saw the prompt, this song popped into my head and just won't go away. It's an old Bonnie Tyler song, and I think it dates back to the 80's. And although it wasn't a real favorite of mine back then, it seems to be speaking to me today.

Fact is, I really need a hero these days, and I think this is the guy I'm looking for. You know the kind of guy I mean - a cross between Hercules and George Clooney - who would just ride in on his white horse, whisk away all my worries and cares, pamper and protect me, and send all those black-hatted bad guys off into the sunset. I can see him now, hot, sweaty, and fresh from the fight ~sigh.

Of course, this hero really is larger than life. But I think the reason I'm so fixated on this superman is that I've been trying to be my own hero for what seems like forever, and its making me tired and a little bit crazy. I want to hand over all life's worries - the health problems, the money concerns, the aging parents, the job woes - to someone strong and fast enough to fix them or make them go away.

But I kinda feel like I'm hanging out on top of that huge precipice, waiting for my hero to come along. I'll keep holding on...but he's gotta be sure, and it's gotta be soon.

Novel Mania Continues

We're halfway through November, which means the Christmas hype is in full swing. Some people (like me!) valiantly try to hold off acknowledging the arrival of the Christmas season until after Thanksgiving, but its getting more difficult to do that each year as media and retailers jerk us into Christmas before Halloween is even over.

Halfway through Novemeber also means halfway through NaNoWriMo (current word count 27, 308), and here are some things I've discovered as I muddle my way through this process: I love the way everything I've read about the writing process is absolutely true...not waiting for inspiration, but just sitting before the page and letting your inner artist guide you, showing up at the page at the same time every day (and night!), just writing it down without letter your inner critic have any time to play with it...all these things work!

I love the way my characters are making me look at my own life differently...for example, the main character in my story is terminally ill, so a major focus is the way we spend time on earth. Its sobering, particularly because the basis for my story is a true situation, and also because I have some other friends who are also facing serious illness. It's forcing me to look at many aspects in my life - the way I spend my time and who I spend it with - in another light. I've been visiting a very interesting blog that speaks to this very issue, in quite touching and exciting ways.

I love the way this venture has empowered me (and lots of others!) to complete something most of us never imagined we could. Yea, encouragement for stepping outside the box!

I hate the way my creative energy is consumed with this project, so there seems to be nothing left for my other creative activities - like poetry and haiku, writing posts for the blog, and even music.

As you can see, the loves far outweigh the hates, which is always my test of whether something is a good idea or not! So, I will soldier on...more updates when time allows...

Sunday Scribblings-Driving My Life

~I don't want to be a passenger in my own life.~
Diane Ackerman

I love to drive. I always have. I love racy little sports cars, and I've even owned a few in my time. I usually drive too fast, and I'd drive even faster if I wasn't afraid of getting caught.

There, I've admitted one of my few dangerous passions. My love of driving is a very concrete example of the way I feel about Diane Ackerman's quote. Because as much as I love driving, that's how much I despise riding.

Of course, it all comes down to being in control - of whatever horsepower you've got rumbling under the hood, and whatever dreams you have spinning in your heart. I like to be the one in charge of getting myself to whatever destination I have in mind - whether it's to work on Monday, or to my goal of completing that NaNoWriMo novel in 30 days. So, I get really irritated when construction barrels pop up on my favorite freeway, slowing me down, and impeding my progress. I get angry when circumstances (completely out of my control) play havoc with my plans and put the brakes on my dreams. When I suddenly have twice as much work to do, because someone at work quit their job. When the economic markets fall and my carefully crafted plans for vacations or retirement are suddenly rendered impossible. All of a sudden, I'm not only a helpless passenger, but one whose life is stuck in a traffic jam 100 miles long.

And as hard as I work to maintain my position on life's highway, there are times when I'm forced to crawl into the backseat because someone or something has wrested the wheel away from me. And when I'm huddled there, unable to clearly see the road ahead, its really easy to simply give up and go to sleep until the trip is over.

But then I hear that deep throated rumble of the engine, the rush of the wind in my hair, and suddenly I'm strong enough to take control of this journey after all. No looking back at what might have been, or crying over the if-only's. Just grab the wheel, put my foot to the floor, and aim in the direction I want to go.

To paraphrase Forest Gump, life is like a road trip...sometimes I'm the driver, and sometimes I'm just along for the ride. But, wherever I happen to sit in the car, I try to follow this advice from motivational author Byrd Baggett...

~Look at life through the windshield, not the rear-view mirror~

photo courtesy of stockxpert

Make My Day

I can't remember when I've been so happy to see Friday! It's been a long week, but here are some of the things that "made my day" today...

~a piece of stunning, original art, created for me by one of my fellow bloggers, arrived in my mailbox this morning...thank you, my friend!

~the sunshine and 60 degree temperatures, perfect for walking the dogs...

~and speaking of dogs..

~these two always make my day...

~getting very close to 20,000 words on my NaNoWriMo novel...maybe I can do this after all...

~a new tea, called Black Pearl, that comes in the cutest triangular shaped mesh bag, and has a light, mellow taste...yummy and very soothing...

~a trip to the library and bringing home Happiness Sold Separately, by Lolly Winston; On Agate Hill, by Lee Smith; What Remains, by Carole Radziwill; and for real fun, something called The Merlot Murders, A Wine Country Mystery, by Ellen Crosby. Which one to read first - always a delightful dilemma...

~the next three episodes of Big Love arriving on DVD from Netflix, my newest TV obsession since the finale of Six Feet Under...

~knowing that tomorrow is another day off...

What made your day today?