Girl Scouts of America – Writing Between the Lines

Like a brilliant sunset, it’s here and then gone.

As fleet as a bird on the wing…

Passing as unnoticed as the morning dew…

…even as it goes speeding down the track of no return.

From here.

To here.

Like a river, it flows, with its twists and turns, its highs and lows.

But mostly highs.

But it’s just as they say.

Time…

…and tides wait for no one.

Childhood, theirs–not ours–slips away like water through our fingers.

Or a kite caught up in a strong wind.

As warm and wonderful as a hug, but just as fleeting.

Suddenly they’re all grown up; intelligent, creative, compassionate human beings, ready to make their contributions to the world. Which is the whole point, isn’t it?

Their childhood is a gift…

…we gave to each other.

It has its season, and then it’s gone…

Off they go to seek their fortunes.

Dang! And just when they learned how to cook!

But here’s something they won’t know until they have children of their own. Long after our kids are parents, long after they’ve gone gray, long after they are elderly orphans…they will still be our babies.

photo e44fa7f6-b8ce-4182-b007-8bfc3bce5a47_zpsee121352.jpg
Neither time nor tides can ever change that.

Click here for more interpretations of The Weekly Photo Challenge: Nostalgia.

Sabrina Garie, author of Fires of Justice, tagged me (sometime ago) for Lucky Seven. Be sure to check out her blog, Sabrina Garie: Life’s a Journey, Keep It Spicy. She is funny, intelligent and, yes, spicy!

So what’ s Lucky Seven? Here’s how it works.

* Go to page 7 or 77 in your current manuscript

* Go to line 7

* Post on your blog the next 7 lines or sentences

* Tag 7 other people to do the same

(To help set the scene, here is a photo of my long suffering mother and me.)

This will help put in context the following excerpt from my manuscript, Real Troopers: Crystal Logan was raised to believe being a good wife and mother meant always putting your family first. When a cancer scare triggers a Middling Life Crisis, Crystal finally rebels at setting up Girl Scout camp in the rain. She and her Girl Scout co-leaders go rogue, and take a field trip to Italy, without children, husbands, or permission slips. At a castle in Tuscany they meet Walter, amateur astronomer, poet, and retired F.B.I. agent. Crystal falls hard, and has some tough choices to make.

“Sorry,” he said, laughing softly. “I wasn’t expecting company.” While he cleared the clutter, Crystal flashed a helpless grimace in the direction of her girlfriends, still crouched and hiding in the roadside ditch.

“That’s better,” said the stranger, stepping aside.

Crystal had never gotten into a car with a total stranger. She could hear the bloodcurdling echoes of her parents’ voices screaming in alarm. What the hell, she thought. Cancer would probably get her before this guy would. A remarkably liberating thought. Crystal smiled up at him, and he smiled back. This must be the year of living dangerously. The click of the stranger’s car door behind her sealed her fate.

(To see a photo of Walter in the Wild, click here.)

Now here are the next Lucky Seven winners. Honestly, I don’t care which seven lines they choose to share. I’m just looking forward to reading their work, and introducing them to my friends. If I’ve included an extra writer or two, I doubt anyone will mind, because that’s one or two more writers to discover and connect with. Happy tales!

Sarah Potter, sarahpotterwrites

Kourtney Heinz, Kourtney Heinz’s Journal

Beatrice, Adventures for the Faint of Heart

Sara Flower, Sara Flower Writes

Kasia James, Writer’s Block

T.W. Dittmer, Self-Published Author

Paula Acton, Scribblings of an Aspiring Author

Maggie Myklebust, flyawayhomebook

Char, Joy in the Moment

Because this is all about wordcrafting, I will also include a splendid poet, the icing on the cake, The Poet By Day, Jamie Dedes.