MOVarazzi

Thursday, September 13, 2012

844. The Real Meaning of Words

When I haven’t written for a while, my brain starts to do dolphin flip somersaults in the waters of anxiety.  I tell myself I will have time for what I love later today, or tomorrow, or most definitely by next Tuesday.  I predict that work will slow down, or the house will clean itself, or the kids will make their own dinner. 

Somehow, none of those things happen.  I want to open up my calendar and split the days into layers, unearthing secret days within the others, like a scientist splitting the atom.  If only there was an extra 24 hours camouflaged behind the standard-issue Mondays, maybe a day just for me:  MOVday. 
I would take this clandestine day and hug it tightly to my chest.  I would whisper gratefully, Now I will write.  The day would smile back at me, knowing that writing would give me back what the dishes and the errands and the must-attend-meetings had stripped away: sanity. 

I would sit at the computer and let my fingers tap away merrily at the letters, the imprints of my fingers worn into humanized divots on the hard plastic keyboard.  I imagine myself as a concert pianist, practicing for an audience of one—tap-tap-tippety-type-tap.  The music of my typing soothes me as I lose myself in my words. 
I recount a recent funny incident, or make up a story, or just ramble.  It doesn’t matter.  What matters is I am here, seizing this minute, this hour, this day for my own radical purposes.  I no longer abandon my inextinguishable desire to write into the recesses of the laundry hamper, like a forgotten sock.  This time is for me. 

And when I finally stop, I re-read my story, correcting a word here, adding a sentence there, polishing and finessing until the story tells me I am done.  The words blink up at me, it is their turn to be grateful.  The completed paragraphs temporarily blind me, like fluorescent diamonds sparkling in the sun. 

MOV
*****
trifecta writing challenge.  the required word is:  "radical", exactly 333 words

20 comments:

  1. Beautifully written - obvious this was not done in the laundry hamper.
    I did Nanowrimo last November and the best thing about it was giving myself permission to write every day. My husband was supportive and managed to handle the missing socks and the laundry hampers while performed my keyboard concert for one.

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  2. Love love love this thought, I feel the same way!

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  3. You have such a gift. Beautiful.

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  4. I love how you describe the joy of writing. The best part is how you say you lose yourself in your words. I really relate. It's the only thing I do that I can get fully absorbed in. Great writing!

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  5. I have the terrible suspicion that if I had a day to myself like that I would end up going for chocolate instead of writing. You do a lovely description of that personal time, though!

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  6. I loved the whole thing but two sentences stuck out to me..."unearthing secret days within the others" so let me know when you've figured that out 'cause I want in! AND "What matters is I am here, seizing this minute, this hour, this day for my own radical purposes." I love to lose myself in words too. Thanks for hitting the nail on the head with this. I also wish for an MOVday called GMFday.

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  7. Loved this one - You describe writing and the enjoyment of writing perfectly.

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  8. Awww, let's campaign for MOVday! You've captured the love of writing so beautifully *wipes tear from eye* bravo!

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  9. This is cool. It has a nice flow to it and seems rather effortless. It's flowfortless.

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  10. The desire to write ...into the hamper like a forgotten sock. Brilliant.

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  11. Gads! I can't find the time to write with this back to school s hedge that I thought would give me gobs of free time...or at least time the computer ws not in use. Plus now the boy ws reunited with his Minecraft love which uses a lot of computer time. Keep searching that calendar for the MOV day!

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  12. Totally understand. Sometimes I have trouble finding the energy to write after a hard day with the kids. I have been so brain dead/ tired, I can't seem to remember what I wanted to write about, let alone, make it entertaining. Trying to get back in my groove :)
    -Heidi
    http://mommypluscoffee.blogspot.com/2012/09/what-do-you-mean-they-take-naps-for-you.html

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  13. Wonderful post. I want a MOV day too! As another mom of two boys, I love the title of your blog too. ;)

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  14. Replies
    1. I meant to write ...I will take a MOVday any day!!! sorry the brain is drained :[

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  15. This is great! I wish I could unearth a secret day. There doesn't seem to be enough time for writing. (Even as I read the Trifecta entries this week, part of my mind is on the Cub Scout shirt and the stack of patches I have to sew on it by next week...)

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  16. I love the line, The words blink up at me, it is their turn to be grateful. This is a lovely homage to writing. Thanks for linking it up.

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  17. Feel the same way and I really hate this writer's block I have been in lately. I need to learn to keep out the normal world and just live in my blog world.

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  18. Each day, I get 2-4 hours, depending on the requirements of kids and life. I'd like to have a full day, but that's not possible on Planet Earth. And yet: I've noticed on the days when time is short, I RUN to the keyboard! Don't want to miss a second of that precious, precious TIME!

    Yes, we've got to block out time for writing. But it's also about how we use the time we have. (Holy crap, did I just channel Gandalf there? Sorry 'bout that.)

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  19. You know that if there were an extra day, the school would deem it a teacher planning day and the kids wouldn't have school. I think I'd like to stop time for about an hour a day instead. Of course I'd probably just take a nap, but you can write and I'll read when I wake up.

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When you write a comment, it makes me feel like I won the lottery or at the very least like I ate an ice-cream sundae. (This has nothing to do with the fact that I did just eat an ice-cream sundae.)