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| A relaxing presence: Lucy the cat with me in 1974. |
Dear Writers,
Puppies! Kittens!
Now that we're home all the time, the comings and goings in the neighborhood take on more significance.
On my pandemic walks, I go bananas when I see our neighbors' pets. The sight of a pair of big goofy paws makes me giddy, giving me a moment of relief from my anxieties. This spring, my son and daughter and I saw the sweetest gray kitten in a neighbor's yard. We were so happy, we stood there on the sidewalk and marveled at its long ears and cloud of fur for several minutes, just like we used to relish visiting the elephants swaying and chomping on hay at the zoo. About a week later we saw signs on some telephone poles for a lost kitten named Pico Buggs. The photo showed gray fur and a pair of long ears.
No!
We felt like we'd lost our own beloved pet. Happily, about a month later we saw Pico (now with the lanky legs of a tween) back in our neighbor's yard. Hooray!
Up and down our emotions go, depending on what's happening around us. On the last weekend in August, we were in our backyard reading and snacking on tortilla chips when we heard the blaring horns of hundreds of counter-protesters, which sounded like an army bearing down on Portland's city center.
Puppies and kittens. Puppies and kittens. We need benign forces in our lives right now. I hope the prompt below brings you some sense of comfort or even pleasure. It may seem elusive, but joy is still around, sunning itself in a neighbor's yard or maybe bounding through your memories and imaginations. Perhaps we can make it come alive through our writing.
Writing Idea
Don't touch that newspaper! Let's turn our thoughts to more pleasant things for a minute.
You might start your writing with something soft and warm and see where it goes. Maybe it will bring you a sense of calm to write about a former pet; or a heartwarming moment with a friend; or a particularly happy, relaxing gathering or trip or dream.
Some of you have lost beloved pets in the last year, so you might also use your writing to honor them and your grief.
If your writing ends up taking you to a dark place with claws and fangs (Tygre, tygre burning bright!), go for it. The act of creating is a positive thing.
