Autumn Rose

  
She’s a late bloomer,
Lured by Autumn’s frosty nip,
Cool passion in red.

~kat 15 October 2015


Red Lights and Expectations

traffic-signal-test-cases

It is rare for me to have one of those mornings where I don’t hit the snooze button a gazillion times (okay, I exaggerate…about a half a dozen times, tops). I wake up refreshed and ready to go, get myself showered, dried, curled and buffed in record time, feed and water the critters and still manage to get out the door at least 15 minutes ahead of schedule. Yeah, right. Hey, it happens!

I had one of those mornings the just other day. As I hopped in my car and buckled up, I smiled to myself.  For once I’ll have time to settle in at my desk. Get a cup of tea while my computer is booting up. I’ll scroll leisurely through my emails before things start ramping up. And I’ll likely be there in time to get one of those prized parking places near the entrance. It was a nice thought.

My exuberance quickly deflated, as I was forced to stop at each of the next 12 stoplights. EVERY.LAST.ONE.RED! Making me LATE for work and no better off had I stuck to my usual routine (I should point out here that on my usual racing out the door, bat-out-of-hell mornings, I am often met by a series of green lights, which position me to arrive early.) Go figure. It’s ironic, isn’t it?

When things like this happen.  When there is clearly a life lesson punching my shoulder saying, “Look at me! Look at me!” I generally try to stop to assess the situation. Thankfully I had plenty of time to do this on that morning. 12 stoplights…an average of a minute and a half at each…hey that’s a good 18 minutes of forced reflection.

You know that saying, “the best laid plans…” Well, I thought about that. As much as I try to prepare myself to be in control, I have no control. Things are gonna happen whether I put effort into them or not.  True, I can plan to be an active participant in the events and activities of my life, but there are just some things that won’t go according to my plan.  Nothing I do will change it, and it is impossible to anticipate when something might happen to mess things up.

There have been more than a few nudges from the Universe lately encouraging me to go with the flow. Which is interesting, because I am basically an easy going sort who is not ruffled by change. I generally do go…with the flow. The key, I think as it relates to the red lights in my life, is not that I’m not willing to change course, but that I still tend to set myself up with certain expectations. It seems those are the culprit. And I need to let go of them too.

Any more letting go, and I’m thinking it is possible I might just lift off and soar. Maybe that is the point. In the meantime, I need to remind myself to refrain from making a list of things I want to see, and where I want to go, when the time to soar does come!

Happy flying to you!

kat – 14 October 2015


“Over” – Haiku Horizon’s Haiku Prompt

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The sun and moon shine
over every inch of earth
all things are worthy.

kat ~ 14 October 2015

This week’s prompt for Haiku Horizon is “Over”. If you would like to see more haiku click HERE.


The Phone Call – Friday Fictioneer’s Photo Prompt

Photo Prompt: ©Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Photo Prompt: ©Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

“Mom?…Mom…”

“Oh my God! Julie, is that you?…John…wake up! It’s Julie!!!  Are you alright? Where are you? …Julie?”

“Momma, I think I’m okay…I don’t know.  I don’t know how I got here. All I remember is being at the party. The sign outside says Wright’s Motel. Do you know where that is?”

“Oh Julie! That’s 50 miles from here! How in the world? Well never you mind.  Daddy is getting dressed.  He’s on his way to bring you home.”

“Mommy, I’m scared.”

“Just stay on the line.  We’ll talk until your daddy gets there.”

“Momma?!  Someone’s coming!!!!”

“Julie?… Julie!!!! Oh GOD!”

Kat ~ October 14, 2015
(100 Words / Genre: Suspense)

Another awesome photo prompt from Rochelle Wisoff-Fields of Friday Fictioneers.  If you would like to read other stories click HERE.


Living the Life…Monday’s Finish the Story

© 2015, Barbara W. Beacham

Now this is living the life of Riley.

Riley is a beast you know. For the lives of me I don’t know what the humans were thinking!

Since he arrived, our peaceful home has been utter chaos! He forages through my privy-box tossing litter every which way, eating whatever he finds. Disgusting! He leaves puddles, or worse, in the middle of the floor! And I am most distressed that he is not content to play with his own toys but must slobber and chew mine to bits!

And here’s the thing. Despite all of this, the humans have grown quite fond of him. I cannot have them loving him more than me!

So…I arranged a bit of a catastrophe on his behalf. The humans had no choice but to scold him and lock him in his kennel.

I rather like Riley’s posh bed. It suits me, don’t you think?

kat ~ 13 October 2015
(150 words)

Mondays Finish the Story – Oct. 12th, 2015. To read more stories click HERE.