Truth is...

I don't know who I am.
The lying hurts me the most.
I can't nurse you anymore.
You've been acting like a bully.
The crying and whining are endless.
Not reading together is fair punishment.
Sometimes I want to run away.
Each day gets a little worse.

I understand myself better than ever.
The lying is just a stage.
I'm not ready to wean you.
I've been acting like a bully.
The crying and whining are outlets.
I hate not reading to you.
I'm where I want to be.
Each day gets a lot better.

Story Time

The motorcycle is racing away fast.

See, the mouse is saying “pbpbbbb!”

He’s hiding under the grandfather clock.

One-hundred seventy six pages of text

shared in whispers. She leans in

and tells the dog another story.

Unkind

Poor Daddy Long Legs scuttles about

the bathroom, looking for the exit.

Meanwhile, Wingy Bug of undetermined species

emerges from Daddy's same hiding spot.

We scoop Daddy into a cup,

carefully sliding a paper under him,

and carry him outside to safety--

a home with a garden view.

I stomp Wingy with my sneaker

and tissue up the black smudge.

I've got limited reserves of kindness,

and Daddy outranked the little dude.

For more Six Word Fridays fun—this week's topic, "kind"—hop over to Melissa's place at MakingThingsUp.com!

Last Laughs

Last hour before bedtime spent

*laughing*

For more Six Word Fridays fun—this week's topic, "last"—hop over to Melissa's place at MakingThingsUp.com!

Again?

It's April! Why's it snowing again!

For more Six Word Fridays fun—this week's topic, "again"—hop over to Melissa's place at MakingThingsUp.com!

Gambare

"There is no other way that we can survive than we say to each other like a prayer, 'Gambare' — go for it, go for it, be positive, be positive. That's why we say that a lot." 

—36 words from Yoko Kumagai, 59, who is living with her family in a sports hall in Rikuzentakata, Japan, after her house was washed away in the tsunami.

When Melissa at Making Things Up shared this week's topic for Six Word Fridays—"Go"—I had no idea what I would write. This morning, on my way to work, I just happened to catch this story on NPR, about the emotional toll of the tsunami and nuclear crisis on the people of Japan. It was the first time I'd ever heard the word Gambaro—and its variant, Gambare—which, loosely translated, means "Go for it!" Many thanks to Yoko Kumagai, who, in 36 words, gave me another way to look at life, loss and hope.

Listen to the entire NPR story here.

And hop over to Making Things Up to add your own six words!

We Hope

Catastrophe strikes, and We all unite.
We devour the news in horror.
We reach out to each other.
We offer help, comfort and hope.
Being part of We is safe.
We can skim the surface together,
feeling bad, but not really feeling.

To feel means to ask myself:
What if this had happened to me?
What if my home were destroyed?
What if my babies were lost?
What if this danger were mine?
Thoughts I can't bear to consider—
typing them now, I can't breathe.

So I rejoin the safe haven
That We provides—strength in numbers.
(Yes, it's a cowardly cop out,
but I can't move forward otherwise.)
We offer help, comfort and hope.
We hug our babies extra tight,
allowing the questions to remain unanswered.

Many thanks to Melissa at Making Things Up for this special installment of Six Word Fridays. This week's topic is HOPE. For every comment on her post this week, she and her family will make a donation to the relief organization Save the Children. Please write a post, share your own six words, and, if you can, make a donation. Together we can send a message of HOPE.

Seconds

Six pairs of Lucky Brand jeans
purchased at Sam's Club last weekend.
The seam at the seat's wacky—
my guess is they're probably seconds.
But, hell, for twelve bucks apiece,
I can wear them on weekends,
or maybe sell them on eBay.

For more Six Word Fridays fun—this week's topic, "seconds"—hop over to Melissa's place at MakingThingsUp.com!

In Sum

What my personal ad would say:

Mom with a full-time job,
who—due to weather and illness
(both her own and her children's)
and perhaps some unknown karmic infraction—
seeks: Some calm amid the chaos;
No more crying (hers/her children's);
And end to identity ping pong;
Some way to thank her bosses
(both the kid and adult variety)
for being so patient with her;
A reprieve from all the pressure
of being everywhere and yet nowhere.

That just about sums it up.

For more Six Word Fridays fun—this week's topic, "sum it up"—hop over to Melissa's place at MakingThingsUp.com!

A bit of WARMTH

My girls, you're

Wunchy
Adorable
Remarkable
Musical
Ticklish
Huggable

to me.

For more Six Word Fridays–and to link up your own six words–check out MakingThingsUp.com!