Everyday Canvas

February 1, 2, and 3

How was January for you?

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January was January as always, weather-wise. It was cooler than usual some days, and warmer than other days, in relation to the regular hot-to-warm Florida weather. What made this January so special is my older son's having come to stay with me for two months, until the end of February, which makes me think I am so lucky with sons who don't want their mother stay alone for very long. So January was great and busy, as is this February, and at the moment, I am set to enjoy every single day of it.

Ground Hog Day

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I don't believe in the myth that the groundhog can predict the weather. It is a fact that the animal has been right only 30-40 %, during the time its data was kept, whereas the weather people were correct at least 60% of the time. These percentages do not say much for either party, but we'll take what we get.

There is, however, that movie, which highlights the situations in our lives when the same negative, monotonous, or even positive experiences may occur repeatedly. Some of those also occur repeatedly with no change or correction. I can come up with a few in my long life, but that would take a novel and, silly me, I have already talked too much and too long about an animal's predictions.

Recall a memory that has emotional not sentimental value for you. Now think about an image or object that triggers that significant moment, conflict or crisis. Write about it. Do you find writing helps you in circumstances like this?

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My house is on a golf course. A few years ago, we witnessed a huge hawk swoop down on a squirrel and kill it while we watched the horror from our back porch. Granted the hawk immediately sat on the squirrel and broke its neck, proving that nature is much kinder than the mankind. Next, it grabbed the lifeless squirrel in its talons and flew off.

Now, I have a small black cat and I'm very much alertand on edge that she doesn't leave the covered porch and the house. Granted my cat is larger than that squirrel but you never know. The trouble with predators like hawks is that you don't see or notice them at first when they go in action, and when you do, it may be too late, then.

I am not sure if writing helps with things like this. There are other instances where I wrote about such stuff, under a veil or not, but that stuff didn't go away from my mind at all. On the other hand, I like writing and that's why I write in the first place.