Mundane Memories

Sometimes, I have moments in my life where I wished I had a video camera taping some of my memories. People always say that about candid days, like their wedding day or when a child was born, but there are certain moments that I truly wish that I could just press pause and live in that singular moment for a bit longer, or revisit it whenever I felt like I needed a lift.

One seemingly mundane moment would be on my honeymoon last year in South Dakota. It was July, steamy heat in the dusty plains as we drove my little Honda across the state on different adventures. I remember having the windows down just enough to let a good breeze in. My hair was down and swirling around my head in the car, which was bothersome enough that I decided to just let it go and stop trying to stop it from blowing everywhere. The sky was the clearest, most vibrant blue with puffy scattered pieces of clouds here and there. It contrasted the pale green of the rolling hills as we were on the highway between one destination and another.

There's a few long stretches of South Dakota where there's really nothing but virgin plains between one destination and another. It makes you recall when the last engine tune-up was, or wish you had stopped to pee and get bottled water at that last gas station when the next one is another 60 miles ahead. I recall this not-so-dynamic moment and wished that I could've stopped time for a little while to enjoy the simplicity of being in a car with someone I loved on the most simple of beautiful days in a simply beautiful moment. It may sound silly, but I remember the tranquility and peace that I felt in those few moments and smile...

Another "sky" moment was a few summers ago at a music festival. It was a Sunday afternoon, the last day of the festival, so most of the patrons were either too sunburnt to come out again, still hung over from the previous days of debauchery, or just not interested in the last artists that took to the stage. Jamey Johnson (who reminds me of a country music version of Jerry Garcia ) was playing a thought-evoking song, read the lyrics & listen to the song here. My then fiance and I were sitting on a blanket in a field, listening to the music and staring up at the perfectly blue-white-patchwork sky. It was a moment, I felt, that movie makers try to recreate for those perfect moments. It was something I still remember with great fondness, and look, a picture to prove it!



He had a thing going with the fumanchu mustache that summer... he's doing it again this summer, and I'm not complaining, I find it a little endearing.

It's simple moments like these that I wish I could savor for more than that single moment. I wish I could crawl inside and relive those moments sometimes, even though I know they were fleeting and gone. It makes me really appreciate the new moments like these when I have them. It's something really special when at that exact moment, you get the feeling you're going to remember it as something spectacular, even if it didn't seem like it right then...

A New Beginning...

So yesterday felt like a turning point, and not for any particular reason except for an urge... I wanted to write.

It's obviously been a while, and a lot has happened since my last half-assed attempt to connect with people via the internet on this site, but I've been reading a lot lately both for leisure and for classes, and it got me thinking....

People ask what your dream job would be. I'm working to pursue my degree for Elementary Education, and that's certainly something that I'm excited about. My current dream job: read whatever I want instead of what I have to, and get paid to write about it. I'd love to be a writer and a critic, even though I don't recall this urge being present ever before. I think I know who to blame, though....

I was reading the books of a writer who is not yet a favorite, but definitely a writer "love interest;" Cassandra Clare, who wrote the Mortal Instruments series that I've been just a little obsessed over since I discovered it only a few weeks ago. I've devoured the first three books, ordered the fourth, and just saw on the website that there are TWO MORE FREAKING BOOKS in the series coming... I seriously can't wait...

Oh, and there's a whole other series of prequel books that she's already started... honestly, woman, you're insane... and becoming a fast favorite...

Anyways, I've been reading another blog written by a short-story writer named Cassandra Clarke (who I mistook for Cassandra Clare, sorry about that!)

*SIDENOTE* There's only a 1-letter difference in their names, I think my mistake can be forgiven... maybe?

But I got inspired to begin writing again. This doesn't mean that I'm going to quit my college major and start all over again, because I'm pretty convinced my husband would kill me if I did that and I don't want to be in school ANOTHER 4+ years for a career that's even more difficult to get into than teaching. I would integrate writing into my classes with students to get them thinking critically about the world around them and why they think the way they do (how teacher-y does THAT sound). I've always benefited from doing just that for other classes, however begrudged I was to perform the task, but immensely enjoyed myself during the process. Simply put: I'd like to pass that on...

Someone once described my writing as "prophetic," which both shocked and amused me since I never really thought about it that way. I suppose as long as there's some thought provocation in my audience that resulted from what I write, it was the best possible outcome I could've asked for. If someone even enjoyed what I wrote the way I enjoy reading other people's works, that would be the greatest thing on the planet... next to ice cream. And snuggles.

So I've decided to try this writing thing again. Not for a class assignment, not for pushing any kind of agenda but simply for the pleasure of writing. Does this mean I'm going to read books and critique them on here? I'm not sure yet, we'll see where this leads me. I'm not sure anyone reads this anymore, so regardless of who finds these words, I'll keep writing them for my own personal satisfaction.

Plus it's easier than a paper journal, which I started one like 4 years ago and still haven't finished.... another work in progress *sigh*

And if this leads me to start attempting at writing short stories, I apologize ahead of time. I was never very talented at writing dialogue and hated the tediousness of it all. I might try poetry again, but usually to write poetry you have to be in a tumultuous relationship or just a tormented part of your life. I'm very happy with where I am in my life right now and haven't written poetry for years, so maybe even just putting happy little snippets of old work would be an option.

So here goes nothing... or my reputation, whatever that's worth. I'm excited to try this out again, and hopefully it's something I continue with for a while, because it could get very interesting...