Odds and Ends

This week has been a long one. Work was scarce and so was my patience. The highlight of the week was being able to turn the air off and open the windows for a few hours to air out the house without it getting so hot you couldn't breath. OK so there were two highlights. I had a guest spot over at M3  that was rather well received. I managed to get some work done when there was no work available. I found out Elance now requires a paid membership to see what the range of bids are on the projects. I do not want to see them that badly. I can find work there without seeing them, or I can go elsewhere. That screams greed, they already take a fee from every payment you get. Well, I'm done with ranting for the week so I'll be going now.

I have no energy. Wednesday, after my child had been out sick for two days, the bus driver upset me so badly I became physically ill. My head and teeth hurt so badly I could not focus to do anything but rant. It is not right that the law requires you to send children to school but makes it virtually impossible to send them where it would be best for them all around. I am attempting to recover from an illness and stress is not helpful to it. I have been attempting to work five days a week, Monday through Friday. The idea was to work only during school hours. Should I find the funds to homeschool I will be working early morning, evening and all night. Should my Internet cooperate I'll keep looking at my options. I may have to rearrange things a bit to get everything done, but that's fine too.

OK it's almost the weekend, and I am on a rampage to find funding. There is a long list of things that I would require, and one of them is getting my kid off the damn school bus since I am not going to be getting a new driver anytime soon. I am tired of rude people, she appears to have found her manners for the moment but I doubt it will last. Were it possible I'd stay in and have everything delivered. This would eliminate the need to leave the house and expose myself to the stress of these rude people  that make me physically ill. Some states have the option of children going to public schools online to avoid the classroom distractions. I cannot find the information for Alabama, I have heard they only recognize it if it's high school. I'm about to find out. I have no idea if I'll have a tax refund this year, but IF I do I'm putting some back to home school or enroll her in a private school. Is it so wrong to prefer putting my child in the care of those th...

Bus drivers. Yes, bus drives. Two and a half years of preschool, kindergarten and now first grade. One year in all that time we've had a bus driver and aid that were polite, helpful and didn't complain about things that were beyond control. This year the driver has the manners of a rock with brain cells to match. Correct me if wrong, but I'm not. If a driver does not have common sense they should NOT be driving children around. While the ability to mechanically operate a motor vehicle is not something everyone has, especially when it requires a CDL part of the test should include mental competency. My six year old knows to close the door to keep things she doesn't want in out, this woman had to be told to. The dog slipped his collar. It's like she thinks that I enjoy taking a dog (most days two dogs), one is hyperactive and a kid to the road to get in the house. Now I'm just wondering if I'll start taking my kid to school before I can manage to get a ...

Sick, and functioning at half capacity, if that. I got some cleaning, and very little work done. Technical difficulties had me fixing some boo-boos here when I woke up enough to realize I'd made them. I'm also the guest blogger over at M3 . So hurry over to see what I had to say about writing my book.

Coloring pages lined the table, and brightly colored paper bordered the bulletin board. Another year was starting, soon the students would embark on a journey of learning. This would be the first time some of them had ever seen a book, she hoped they appreciated them. What is it about the start of school that makes parents so happy? Will the children appreciate the books? The word is embark and this post comes in at 46 of the 50 word limit. Visit M3 for the official rules and word list to be included in the next edition of Flash in the Pan: Finding the Path. Thank you for sharing this post with the hashtags #flashfiction and #flashinthepan

Well, the first week of school has come and gone. Homework came home on day two with two days to complete. That was good since the rain caused me to drip all over it when I took it out of the baby’s bag. We’re still attempting to get through the math book that was sent home at the beginning of summer. I managed to get some work done this week, even with a few connection issues. Gentle went to the vet to get fixed, and eight of the nine remaining puppies went to a no kill shelter. I kept Junior. I couldn’t help myself I had to have one of them. He was two months old Wednesday. He’s adorable, and acts about like an actual baby. Like the other two he has no idea he’s not an actual child. Johnny is still shoving me off the bed in the middle of the night. Junior is climbing into chairs by himself, and already begging for food. Gentle went to the Vet Tuesday; there will be no more litters for her. No more puppies to find homes. Sylvester (the cat) was fixed shortly after I got him. ...

Food, clothing, pillows, blankets and weapons filled the boxes that were being loaded onto the bus. There appeared to be a lot but the group could only hope that it was enough. Each of them had packed their own personal items into backpacks they would keep with them at all times. The boxes were additional supplies that would be split among them. Each of them had a purpose, the destination was unknown to them but they would travel continuously until the driver reached it. They only hoped it was not a suicide mission. Why are they traveling somewhere with no idea where they are going? Why do they need weapons? Why would they think it was a suicide mission? The word is travel, this post comes in at 93 of the 150 word limit. Visit M3 to find the official rules and word list for Finding the Path. Stop by the Redmund Productions Book Store, to pick up the 1st edition ebook for free. Thank you for sharing this post with the hashtags #flashfiction and #flashinthepan

School started, and the kid was so excited that she was up at 4:44 a.m. the first day. 6:01 a.m. she was trying to get out the door. I am not sure why but she was certain that she must carry her lunch box (empty) to school with her, in her hand even though it attaches to the backpack. It's a short kid thing. The idea of getting up at 5 in the morning is not appealing, and it took me half the summer to break the habit. Now I have to get back into to it so next summer I guess I'll just give up and not alter my sleeping habits. Now I have to catch up on all the work I fell behind on during the school year.

Stella stumbled through the darkness holding her broken heels in her hand, grimacing at the pain in her feet from the cuts. Exhaustion could be felt in her bones, but she could not stop. The barking told her the dogs were getting closer. The team of dogs would attack at the sight of her. It was their only job in this life, the trainer had done well. The woods were the one place she would never be able to hide they knew them backward and forwards. Stella had learned a lot since leaving her privileged lifestyle behind. The shot knocked her backward onto the ground but the silence of the dogs was worth it. Why is she running through the woods, in the dark in heels? Why are the dogs chasing her? Where did she find the gun? The word is backward and this post comes in at 114 of the 150 word limit. Visit M3 to find out the official rules, and be including in Finding the Path. Remember the first edition is always free in the Redmund Pro free book bin . Thank you for shar...

The week has been a long one, Internet connection issues and a lack of concentration allowed for some wild turns of the imagination. Appointments are dwindling and we are getting ready to go back to the school schedule. This year it will be emptier than it has been in several years. Strange but while I am glad we have fewer appointments to attend I am starting to miss them. I cannot help but think about the times when therapy itself was resented. It was taking time from my time with her but it was a necessary evil. The days that I spent watching her have first with others were difficult but we made it through them. Open House was easy to get through and the kid even went to say hello to her Kindergarten teacher. We dropped off the school supplies and met her first grade teacher. The baby had spent hours walking around with her backpack ready to go to school so I was surprised when she wanted to go as soon as I finished the paperwork. She really surprised me by actually sayin...

Vines were wrapping themselves around the house it had been neglected so long. The jungle-like appearance amazed the crew, clearing the yard was the easy part though. They already knew that the structure was beyond repair, rotting wood was visible through the tangled mess. Tattered toys, cans, tree limbs and boards were all found in the jungle vines. There was nothing salvageable outside, but the crew risked entering the dilapidated home as soon the entrance was clear. Inside was no resemblance to the exterior, everything was pristine. Who would go through so much trouble to keep the inside so immaculate while letting everything else fall to the waste side? The answer did not take long to find, a  pile of human remains lay between the crisp linens on the king sized bed, in one of the rooms. Why is the inside of the house immaculate while the outside is falling apart? Are the remains of the only occupant? Were there others? Where did they go? What will happen to the furnis...

Today is wordless Wednesday for everyone else, but for me it is wordy Wednesday.  This week is only half over and already it is filled with stress. Monday we had speech and tomorrow we have speech; the 19th we go back to our regular after school once a week spot down from five days a week, four days a week and three with four every other week. It is also down from two spots a week.  The kid has made amazing progress and now she allows her speech therapist to help her with her school work; it is worked into the speech session so that two things are cleared out with one session. We have learned you cannot argue with the short kid's logic because it is logical after all.  Trying to get her to tell you the channel line-up for any given channel without it being on is met with "It's not on." Ask her for one of something, let two fall into your hand and she takes one back because you asked for one. She is literal how many you ask for is how many she counts out into you...

He wanted her out, it was a daily habit for him to scream it at her. Let her try to leave him and the beatings began. She was desperate to get away from him. Hope dwindled from her very soul as she to think that she was never going to get out alive. She was confused did he want her to egress or did he want her to stay with him forever. No matter, she knew what she had to do. Once dinner was served tonight he’d never lay a hand on her again. Are they dating, married or father and daughter? Why will her problems be over after dinner is served? The word is egress, this post comes in at 94 of the 150 word limit. Go to M3 to find the official rules and word list. Thank you for sharing this post with the hastags #flashinthepan and #flashfiction

“Click on the fruit, clear the board and go to bed.” What was it about this silly game that had him obsessing over it? It was designed for children. He  should have beat it weeks ago. How was it that he could not manage to get up to the next level? “Are you still playing that game? You’re going to turn into a zombie.” “I have to beat it, I just have to. It’s going to haunt me forever if I don’t.” She rolled her eyes and left him to his game, by the time he got up she’d be gone. She wondered how many days it’d take him to notice. Why is he obsessed with the game? Is she leaving because of it or is it just an excuse? Who is she? Who is he? Are they in a relationship or related? The word is up, this post comes in at 111 of the 150 word limit. Go to M3 for the official rules. Thank you for sharing this post with the hashtags #flashfiction #flashinthepan and #findingthepath.