Free Write - Plastic Bags

 

Christmas Eve at Manora for our weekly 10-minute Free Write. No matter that the holiday was starting in a few hours. People at tables around us were drinking their coffees, espressos, hot chocolates and eating their croissants and pastries. Behind the tea room, the grocery store was buzzing with people doing last minute meal shopping. The snow from earlier in the week had melted. As we left there were lots and lots of gold-foil Lindt teddy bears. These sessions with my two writing friends have been a gift all year long.

Julia's Free Write Bags and Boxes

There they sat, not line up, no particular order – in the middle of the living room.

 How many years had flown by, toing and froing. Leaving home, coming back, leaving, returning.

Did he always want to? Probably not, but home was always there to take him in.  And more importantly allowed him to finally achieve at least one dream, that of becoming an art teacher.

Also, the house was big, he had his own quarters and even if his mother complained about the mess in the kitchen (more than once!) they got along well, and he always felt wanted and loved. Also, he lived his own hours, took care of all his own things so was in many ways a presence and comfort for his mother – not that she was often around.

But now life had changed again, he was engaged, he was an officially licensed teacher and had a job! Time to start his own life.

Thus, the living room – full of today’s way of packing for a major move, bags and boxes.

Julia has written and taken photos all her life and loves syncing up with friends.  Her blog can be found: https://viewsfromeverywhere.blogspot.com/  

D-L's Free Write

"Are you moving? Gina asked.

"What do you think?" Tina asked.

Gina looked at the plastic bags from Migros Grocery Store, the kind that almost last forever. A supermarket clerk would write the date in the corner just in case, something happened to the bag, they would replace it.

Gina looked at the contents of the bags: Spices, underwear, three pans, four bowls one of which was cracked. None of the bowls were wrapped in newspaper.

One had Christmas presents wrapped. 

"It's August."

"You know I do my Christmas shopping early."

Gina said nothing. She knew Tina could out Monk, Monk, the OCD TV detective 

When Tina was in a mega-move, there was only one thing for Gina to do. Help. She picked up two bags and headed for the door.

D-L has had 17 fiction and non fiction books published. Check out her website at:. https://.dlnelsonwriter.com

Rick's Free Write

Nana had taken to calling it the “12 Bags of Christmas.” Everybody in the family brought something. My brother Bob, the butcher, brought the big ham. Sister Kate (who was a nun) brought the candles. Mom supplied the candied yams. Dad’s specialty was the nuts. And Grandpa was always the liquor specialist (some of the bottles had obviously been opened).

We’d all show up at Nana’s house on Christmas Eve, just around dusk, set the bags in the kitchen, then go caroling in the neighborhood. Everyone except Grandpa, who would settle in his Lay-Z-Boy recliner with a glass in his hand.

When we arrived back, the kids were all excited and wanted to open presents, but the rule was the family ate together first.

Just was we finished Aunt Mabel’s pumpkin pie – with whippy – the snow started to fall outside and Grandpa started falling asleep.

The smallest child, Cindy, would recite a few lines from The Grinch and then she got to open the first present.

The dog curled up by the fire, and the empty bags sat in the corner, waiting for next year.

“And to all a good night!”

 Rick Adams is an aviation journalist and publisher of www.aviationvoices. com