A Blank page is staring at me. It’s been this way for a week and it’s unnerving. There’s this unseen pressure about where to start and what to fill it with. So I go read other peoples pages… oops, not the best idea really… now there is a further desire to be funny or profound or informative or shit just funny… But I have a story and FuckSox Friday needs to have some stuff in it stockings. I have some crazy shit to share, shit that makes the track of my bipolar express, and this may be the push I need to do it. So I will attempt to make the page not blank. As always keep your rose colored glasses handy.
Becca had this lovely flow, this prose-esk way of writing her Familial Friday and starting with “I remember…” I love that. It took me with her back to her space, along with her to her memory. I don’t have anything quite so lovely, but I have something familiar. Sorry it’s not short, but then, we were told word count wasn’t the goal (yay for you!)
Write on Wednesday: Make it Better…
A FuckSox Friday piece on a Wednesday.
Sometimes it’s just like that… you’re almost 12 and your Mom is doing her best to embarrass you with her dead on Billy Martin impression. She’s screaming at the ump at home plate because the opposing catcher kicked you with her shin-guards in a futile attempt to keep you from scoring the winning run for your team. Little did miss catcher girl know that your 6′ tall mother, who was managing your team, would have no problem charging the field, picking you up and sitting your blubbering ass on the plate, before screaming at the ump with her thick and getting thicker Boston accent (this is California – they think you are making sexual advances when you just want to eat your lunch) about how little miss shin splints should be banned for life for unnecessary roughness. (um I think that’s a different sport ma, but thank you for playing) At this point you have gone into full asthmatic meltdown and the fact that you can’t breathe is barely enough to cover your shame ad embarrassment. Your mom is ejected from the field, your dad has no idea how to handle any of it and you are really thankful that someone’s mom knows that you put ice on a shin to keep it from swelling and had enough sense to find your inhaler.
This was pretty much the end of my oh-so-illustrious softball career. The point where I became known as “that lady’s daughter” or “hey, isn’t your mom the one that…” and my favorite… “dude, you got totally boned at home plate and your mom is a badass!” I admit I was not the greatest athlete, but I enjoyed the game. Over time when playing here and there, I even learned to deal with my nicknames having to be printed in a mini-font and taking the entire back of my jersey… I learned to embrace being her daughter.
As I’ve grown older I learned that Billy Martin Ma wasn’t reserved for the softball field. She is a protective bitch (probably the only time you will hear or see bitch and my mom in the same sentence and it is a respect thing). In fact being protective is a trait she passed down to me, kinda like being ‘her daughter’ would follow me always. Just like looking back on the incident that day, being her daughter isn’t a bad thing. It is a major part of what has shaped me. I don’t sit on the bench and watch those I love get kicked in the shins by some stupid bitch in plastic guards. I don’t give a shit if I get kicked out for saying what I think is right even if my voice is sometimes at the wrong tone. And even though I may not be in the best place with her at that moment, I am never ashamed to be introduced as her daughter. Because sometimes it’s just like that… you get totally boned by life one way or another only to realize your mom is still a badass.
Write On Wednesdays Exercise 18 – Look through your previous WoW posts (or select a short writing piece that you would like to work on). Read through your piece carefully and let’s attempt to make it better. Look for redundant words, clichés or overused phrases. Chop and change. This is not an exercise in word count; it’s not about simply whittling it down. Make it a better piece of writing. Post your original and edited piece. THEN, throw it to the*wolves. Ask for advice from WoWers. With help you can make your writing shine. **
Original:
A Blank page is staring at me.
It’s been this way for a week and it’s unnerving. There’s this unseen pressure about where to start and what to fill it with. So I go read other peoples pages… oops, not the best idea really… now there is this pressure to be funny or profound or informative… But I told Becca last week on her post I wanted to steal Familial Friday. (Probably because if I called it FuckSox Friday no one would know what it was about… or think it about something else entirely! Maybe I don’t care and FuckSox Friday it shall be.) I have some crazy shit to share, beyond my normal bi-polar express, and this may be the push I need to do it. So I will attempt to make the page not blank. As always keep your rose colored glasses handy.
Sometimes it’s just like that… You’re goin on 12, and your Mom is doing her best Billy Martin impression with the ump at home plate because the opposing catcher kicked you with her shin-guards in a futile attempt to keep you from scoring (what would ultimately be) the winning run for your team. Little did she know that your 6′ tall mother, who was managing your team, would have no problem charging the field, picking you up, sitting your blubbering ass on the plate before screaming at the ump with her thick and getting thicker Boston accent (this is California – they think you are making sexual advances when you just want to eat your lunch) about little miss shin splints should be banned for life for unnecessary roughness. (um I think that’s a different sport, but thank you for playing) At this point you have gone into full asthmatic mode and can’t breathe, your mom is ejected from the field, your dad has no idea how to handle any of it and you are just thankful that someone’s mom knows that you put ice on a shin to keep it from swelling and found your inhaler.
This was close to the end of my oh-so-illustrious softball career. The point where I became known as “that lady’s daughter” or “hey, isn’t your mom the one that…” and my favorite… “dude, you got totally boned at home plate and your mom is a badass!” I admit I am not the greatest athlete, but I enjoyed the game. I even learned to deal with my nicknames having to be printed in a mini-font and taking the entire back of my jersey… I learned to embrace being her daughter.
As I grew older I learned that she was protective and that was a trait she passed down and that being her daughter would follow me always. In my adult life (oh yes, 20+ years later) I learned to get used to being introduced as “her daughter … Oh I just love your mom” or “Have you met sars? no? Oh, she’s her daughter. OH!”
Do you know of the writer Christopher Moore? He’s one of my favorites, and his online store has something called Fucksox Fridays! It’s a day where he promotes the selling of Fucksox (which are the coolest socks you will ever find – you get 3 at a time because one is always getting lost) and all the proceeds go to MS (Multiple Sclerosis) research.
Very different Fucksox Friday’s, but I had to share anyways. :)
Yes Miss Haylah Mae,
I actually started calling it FuckSox Friday because of Christopher Moore. And Throx are the shit!!!! 3 sox for the price of 1 pair! It has morphed into a whole new meaning (one I think Mr Moore would be proud of) and is really more a moniker that I like to think can encompass many things.
Thanks for being the first one to recognize. I wish I had a cool prize to give you!! (other than the knowledge that I snort-laugh when I read your shit)
sars
Throx ARE the shit, except for fat girls like me. The insides of them dig into my canckles and leave little red lines, making my feet look like they’ve been prepped for amputation. Ah well, at least I have them to make sock puppets out of! :)nnAnd snort-laughs are the BEST. PRIZE. EVER!
that is the most awesome comment. ever.
My mum is like that. I’m always “HER daughter”… I still have complete strangers approach me and smile and greet me warmly based solely on being “HER daughter”. She passed some of herself onto me, but I’m not sure it’s the part that earns warm greetings from strangers…
The rewrite was great in that it gave more. It illuminated your respected for your mum more – whereas the first draft was more ambiguous. Welcome to WoW!
thank you. Sorry it took so long to reply.
I agree with Elizabeth the rewrite was more polished but I thought both versions were nicely written. I also love that you have the courage to use colorful language, it comes off very natural and really adds to the peice.
Spot on, my friend!!
I liked it much better. Not that the original wasn’t tight and well-written, but it just seemed…more polished. Duh, of course it seemed more polished.
Hi,
I’m visiting from WoW. I liked the re-write (and your mom). And it sounds like you could do a whole lot of these kinds of stories. Would love to read them.
So, I guess that is my comment. I want more. More detail. More mom. More you in there.
–FC
P.S. Don’t read other blogs until after you’ve posted; I learned that the hard way.
Thanks FC. Funny enough my mom rarely reads these and that is probably good. As much as she has the potty mouth, she probably wouldn’t like the content of most things and think my posts tooo personal even though I keep myself as hidden as I can. I appreciate your comments.
Hell, I’ve never been referred to as “shit just funny” so I feel honored. Thanks for the mention!
Rock on, sister.
Misty, I look forward to carving time to read your posts. They make me smile. Having worked around a courthouse in a different capacity and having seen just as many fucktards… makes it all the better.
Thanks for the shout out sars! I ain’t got the sars, though. Just the pox. Damn pox always crops up this time of year…
You are welcome sir… I’m sure it won’t be the last time as you make me laugh so hard I may need to invest in adult diapers at a very early age :)