10-Minute Writers: I remember...

Ready for your first 10-minute writing exercise? This one is based on Wild Mind by Natalie Goldberg...

Write for 10 minutes and start your post with the phrase "I remember..."Only write for 10 minutes. Use a timer. Don't stop writing/typing. Doesn't have to be in the past. It could have been five minutes ago, as Goldberg says. If you get stuck in thought, go back to the phrase "I remember." Don't spell check. Don't edit yourself. Not even to post. Don't worry if you're not sounding like Toni Morrison or [Insert your Favorite Writer].

Post your 10-Minute Exercise link in comments or track back so we can all read each other's stuff.

Ready?

Go.

"I remember when Q. would cry, scream and grab my legs in fear when the babysitter would knock at the door. He knew. He just knew that Mama was leaving and he'd have to play with someone else not Mama. I remember gathering my computer and purse in a hasty rush to get out the door to stop him from this agony. To not have to hear him cry. To not have to see his angry, tear-stained face and mochos streaming down from his nose. I remember the guilt of leaving him with someone else. The working mom guilt. The damned if you do damend if you don't thought that stuck in my head. The blaring music I played to keep my thoughts off of Q. and on someone else. The singer. The song. The singer. The cute, handsome, rugged singer. The cries. The tears. The dilemma. I remember the babysitter coming over this morning and Q. didn't cry. He said "Mama, no bye bye." Mama, don't go. He started to cry, but for only a second. And then he started play peek-a-boo with the babysitter by hiding behind my legs. Peeking his face in between my knees. I remember saying "Q. dame u besito" and where he normally runs to me and kisses me ferociously, I remember him not even paying attention to me. Just playing with his Thomas the Tank Engine wooden train tracks. Burying his face in the plastic container that contained all the tracks. He started babbling and singing as I stood. No Squatted, about two feet from him. So I leaned over and kissed him goodbye. He didn't even notice. Or chose not to. And so back to the thoughts. I was hit with a brief moment of sadness. He wasn't mad, sad, cranky, that I was leaving. He wasn't throwing himself at me, begging, pleading for me to stay. He wasn't. He WAS happy. Adjusted. Accepting. I remember grabbing my bags to leave the house. The bags that were prepared earlier in the morning for a quick, hasty escape because I assumed it was Monday and he'd have a tough time with me leaving. But he didn't. And now, I can't wait to get home and see him. The working mom dilemma. Damned if you do. Damned if you don't. Yet always happy to be with your kids. I remember."

Comments

[Bethany]

Ah yes, high school and college late-assignments are flooding my memories! I am such a slacker.

Anyway, I joined in. See the post here.

Though I *fixed* the rules a bit to my liking. Hope you don't mind. :-)

[Jules]

I put one up today too!

[foodmomiac]

Here is mine. Thanks for doing this!

[twizzle]

Mine is up. Thank you!

http://baboonmag.blogspot.com/2007/01/i-remember.html

[Mrs. Blue]

http://blueeyedfloozie.blogspot.com/2007/01/10-minutes.html

Okay, it's up and I hope all the links and such are working.

[kkonmymind]

This was a lot of fun. Mine is here:
http://kk.typepad.com/kk/2007/01/i_remember.html

[CityMama]

Mine's up!

http://citymama.typepad.com/citymama/2007/01/i_remember.html

[cranky mama]

Mine is up! I don't know how well it turned out (I'm usually big on the edits, but I did a churn-and-post for this) but it was super fun.

I love the way you described the heart-wrenching sweetness of a child who doesn't want his mama to go to work. It must have been so hard.

[Alisyn]

Having just come back from our holiday trip to my parent's house, I've been reminiscing a lot about my pregnancies with my girls. One of my oldest friends is about to burst with her first baby, and she still hasn't decided on a name. I remember every, single name we tossed around for both of our girls and, offered our unused "possible" names up to her. There was Anabel, Penelope, Mia and Adelaide when I was pregnant with Hazel. There was also Honey (Mike put his foot down on that one), Plum and Liv, after my mom, Olivia. When I was pregnant with Violet, there was Clementine, Mathilda (which was very, very nearly chosen at the last minute), Maeve, Liv again, and Greer, for about two seconds. I think I came up with a new name for each girl damn near everyday. And the funniest part is that both girls were named three months into pregnancy. Each girl was referred to by name, in the womb, as though she had chosen the name herself and, though I offered many alternatives, we all knew that the original would stick. And stick the originals did. People often assume that we had a baby naming theme, but we didn't. We didn't set out to give both girls botanical names, it just happend that way. Those were the names that we liked, and that fit, the best. And now we have "the flowers." And I love that! And if we had a third girl, which we won't - but if we did, we'd totally give her a flower name, too. Magnolia. Marigold. Rose. Tulip. Lilac. Dahlia. A million little flowers in our garden.... maybe in the next life.