1 of 642 Things

As I mentioned in my post last week, I have been struggling with being disciplined in my writing. A friend showed me the book 642 Things to Write About by the San Francisco Writer's Grotto and in a last ditch attempt to keep going, I bought the book.

The list is an eclectic selection of writing prompts from "Something you've always regretted saying" to "The Thoughts of the first man to eat an oyster." Out of respect for their work and copyright, I won't be including the actual prompts each time. But if you like to write or think outside the box, I would recommend the book. Also, who knows where the prompt might lead my mind and the two may not seem to be connected by the time I am ready to hit publish.

Today though, I start with Thing 1 - "What can happen in a second"

I was killing it on Thursday. Seriously. My butt was in my chair a la Anne Lamott. I was actually writing and feeling good about both the words on the page and the time spent working. And then the email arrived. It wasn't anything big or important or life changing. Just one of those awkward emails you occasionally get that make you unsure of what happened or where you stand with the writer. One second…

I was sitting at home, watching tv while my kids napped when I received a telephone from a pastor at our church. My friend had been in a life changing car accident while on her way to the library with her kids. Her daughter was instantaneously with Jesus in heaven and my friend was fighting for her life. One second…

I was laying in bed one evening, overwhelmed by nothing and everything. Tired of listening to my kids whine about dinner and exhausted after a long week of taxiing and monitoring and feeding and clothing and grey days. Little One came in to say goodnight. His eyes, his smile, his kisses changed it all. One second…

I was standing before my groom. Dressed in white, our friends and family surrounding us, though all I could see was his side, my friends behind me. The pastor, a friend of mine from work, asked a simple question. There I stood, single on one side and forever tied on the other side of the words I do. One second…

The last second goal that changes the outcome of a game. The first snow flake you see knowing the rest are coming. The last text you send before putting your phone in airplane mode. The moment the characters in the story shift and your perspective is forever altered. The forgotten lunch. The quick stop to fill up the gas tank. The smile given across the grocery store aisle.

Life changes in one second.

One second we often don't see coming.

And yet so much of my life has felt like biding time. At least since I had kids, or maybe more accurately when we started trying for kids. Or was it earlier than that, when we were working toward the next move, the next job. Or even earlier still when we were waiting to get married or waiting to get engaged or waiting to be in the same time zone. Or did the biding start when I was waiting to meet the man I would marry. Or waiting to graduate and get a grown up job. Or waiting to get into college and start my own life.

When did the biding my time start?

One second.

Added together.