Bring On Lemons

A Halloween to Remember This story may or may not be true…is it a trick? A treat? Both? Neither? You decide…or maybe you’ll never know because you’ve entered the ‘fiction zone……” I received her reminder exactly a week before Halloween:  Am I still taking the kids trick or treating Halloween night? I had nearly forgotten I had promised her. I didn’t particularly care for Halloween and was happy to have someone else endure the evening of begging door to door for candy, so I responded: Sure, if you’re willing to take them, they’re all yours. Just don’t let them eat the candy. Having been our family babysitter for years, she expected that sort of reply and meant the following literally: LOL I knew she would let them eat some of the candy, and she knew that I would be fine with a little candy as long as it was done in moderation and some of the Tootsie Rolls would be saved for me. We made arrangements to meet at the local college so she could pick up another friend as ...

Sylvia stretched and blinked. Her vision cleared. She yawned. The rain tapped gently on the window and she could hear the leaves rustling across the deck. Fall had once been her favorite time of year. This year it didn’t have quite the allure it did in the past. There were leaves to rake, pumpkins to carve, and pies to bake…but there would be no laughter. She was officially an "empty nester". She tugged the duvet, tucked it under her chin, and closed her eyes. She wasn’t eager to start her day. If she weren’t self-employed, Sylvia would call in sick today. “Almost Paradise” blaring from her alarm finally roused her. Sylvia figured she had better get out of bed, or she might be considered lazy. Not that anyone would know, but she still heard the judgmental words of her mother… “Only lazy and dying people sleep past eight in the morning young lady.” She rolled over, turned off the alarm and grabbed her phone. 7:55am – time to hit the pavement. She threw on her favorite pu...

Well, hello there! I missed you! I've been busy cleaning and packing and cleaning some more. The last few weeks have been crazy (in a good way) and I haven't found much time to touch base with anyone. I did tell my husband that the next time we move, I'll need a good tranquilizer or a case of wine about a week in advance, and just keep me 'on cloud nine' until everything is cleaned and organized and all the final papers have been signed. I enjoy moving believe it or not. This will be my 28th address in only 18 years, so I am no stranger to boxes, bins, tissue paper, bubble wrap, newspapers, and duct tape. However, this is the most stressful move to date. Of course I put the stress on myself, I know that...but moving with school age children is totally different than a single girl packing up throughout the night, loading up her hatchback, and taking up residence in a cozy new apartment. These children seem to unpack faster than I pack, dirty faster than I clean, ...

I remember thinking that I just needed a little more green paint. That was right before I felt the tingle at the base of my spine. It felt like someone was watching me as I painted. I turned to check my surroundings and nearly tripped over a very large man with gorgeous green eyes. He was attractive, but I was annoyed and gave him a look to tell him as much. He smiled and gave me a nod before walking away. I had been commissioned to paint a mermaid on a yacht. I had done that, and more…I created a topless mermaid with black hair, hazel eyes, full breasts, and a tail that reminded me of the ocean. She was a permanent resident of the vessel they called Obsession; the yacht was a 300 some foot Lurssen whose owners were paying me a handsome sum to paint her. I didn’t ask questions. After the first ten hour day working on her, I decided to give her a name. I called her Claire Aslin meaning bright future. Claire and I shared many moments together during the three weeks it took me to ge...

What can you give that you can never take back? Of course, it's our words. We choose them carefully because we all know that we can say I'm sorry, but we can never take back the words we've said or change the impact they've had on others. We can choose to give a compliment or an insult. We can choose to lift someone up, or knock them down. The list goes on and on. None of this is profound, new, or should come as a surprise to any of us. What I do find profoundly interesting is something said by a friend recently. She said something to the effect of: Words are really powerful - God used them to create everything we know...even mankind. Wow! That explains it, doesn't it? I've been been thinking about this for weeks and if God used words in our creation, they are really the most powerful things we have. They are more powerful than nuclear weapons and guns in the sense that they can both create and destroy instead of just having the ability to destroy. Whe...

Chilly Friday afternoons in Wisconsin seem to bring out my imagination - so here's a little flash fiction to start your weekend off. Enjoy - and may your paths be abundantly filled with lemons, sugar, sunshine, and friends who understand you. ~Crystal I Get It “I get it Michael; I’ll see you in a few days.” I grumbled into the phone before slamming it down on the desk. The husband with the growing empire, I get it…he had a business to run and things that needed his attention in Florida. In the meantime, here I am, stuck in Wisconsin’s Northwood’s for another weekend alone. Good thing he bought me a nice house on the lake and a boat so I could enjoy myself with absolutely no one to talk to for days at a time. I slammed my coffee cup on the counter and rolled my eyes as the tears streamed down my cheeks. Good thing we are three hours away from my friends and family. I decided to take a walk. We really did have a beautiful home, and I really liked Rhinelander. I thought a...

If (by Rudyard Kipling) If you can keep your head when all about you  Are losing theirs and blaming it on you. If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise: If you can dream  - and not make dreams your master; If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat these two impostors just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools: If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss; If ...