Prompts

Higher Ground

/ Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 33 Comments

PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

Words: 97

Matilda took the pills and sat her cup aside. She gripped the sink’s edge to steady the relentless tremors.

Gazing out the window, she watched the ripples turn to rapids. Unprecedented flooding, forecasters warned, move to higher ground.

She’d lived by that river her entire married life made memories here.

Matilda, her gait unsteady, ambled to Fred’s recliner and dropped exhausted into the chair. Warning banners ran across the silent TV screen.

She closed her eyes against the sound of rushing water and pressed Fred’s picture to her chest. Hold on honey; I’m moving to higher ground.

 

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story and look for me on Facebook at SheilaMGood,  Pinterest,  Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilagood, and Contently.

The Great Divide

/ Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 7 Comments

DAILY PROMPT: Divide

There are many directions I could take this prompt, however, given the fact we are already a divided country on just about every issue imaginable, I’ll stick to something more specific to me.  I call it the great divide – that space between what I plan to accomplish on any given day and those things I actually accomplish.

I’m an organizer by nature or perhaps by genetics (blame my mother) and in the past, all that organizing has helped me get things done promptly. Not so much anymore. The older I get, the more paralyzing it has become and the greater the divide.

20071126-todo-listDivision of any kind is unproductive and when it seems to be between my two ears; it is a bit worrisome.

Most days I’m able to focus and strike a line through every item on my to-do-list. Other times? I’m lucky if I write a sentence with the letters going in the right direction!

If this aging thing gets any more exciting, y’all might just get to see me tap dancing. Until then, I’ll divide my tasks minute by minute and hope to hell I get something finished.

 

You May be Right

/ Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 19 Comments

DAILY PROMPT: Drawing a Blank

When was the last time you walked away from a discussion, only to think of The Perfect Comeback hours later? Recreate the scene for us, and use your winning line.

Don’t you just hate that vague, empty feeling? You have all your thoughts together and your fighting gloves on (metaphorically speaking) and then nothing.  It happens every time my husband, and I disagree.

Before we sit down to discuss the situation, I practice my lines and make notes of the last time we had the same discussion (you know the kind); I’m ready. Then he gets in the first word and my brain farts.brain_thinking_lg_clr

Yep, my mind goes blank, and all I can think is, I did not say that. I mean, where in the hell is the recorder when you need it?

For the life of me, I can never get the best of him. But, I have a secret weapon that never fails to calm the situation down.

I reply, “You may be right.”

He isn’t, but I’ve gotten in the last word. What else can he say?

I’d love to hear your comments. Talk to me. Tell me your story and look for me on Facebook at SheilaMGood,  Pinterest,  Bloglovin, Twitter@sheilagood, and Contently.

What’s in a Name? Like it or Leave it

/ Sheila McIntrye Good, Author / 10 Comments

DAILY PROMPT : Say Your Name

Write about your first name: Are you named after someone or something? Are there any stories or associations attached to it? If you had the choice, would you rename yourself?

newspaperNames are important. New parents, in particular, spend weeks or months picking out the perfect name to attach to the 3-D face of their child.

Books listing baby names from the most popular, gender, or meaning line shelf after shelf.

Family names are passed from one generation to the next with surnames becoming the first, middle, third, or hyphenated name. We chose them based on our belief systems, ideology, favorite fruits, hobbies, movies, idols, or the desire to be different. Take your pick.

My mother, a voracious reader, chose my name, Sheila, after a character in a book. I don’t know the name of the book and the last time I asked mom, she couldn’t remember. But, my grandmother hated the name and for the first few months of my life refused to call me Sheila; instead she called me Shitty.

No wonder I’m such a sensitive soul (Not). However, starting life out with the nickname Shitty is  probably why I grew up to be the strong woman I am.

What’s in my name?

51n3k6ijdxl-_aa320_ql65_According to the baby name books, Google, and Wikipedia they’re a few things worth mentioning about my name.

The name Sheila is from the Latin Caelia, which is a feminine form of the Roman clan name Caelius or dimintitive of Cecilia — meaning heavenly, or of the heavens. Yes, those are angel wings you hear in the background.

It is also, derived from the Irish name Síle/Sìle, which is believed to be a Gaelic form of Cecilia, meaning “blind,” from the Latin word caecus (Am not!).
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And in Australia, Sheila, is slang for “woman,” derived from the Irish girls’ name Síle (anglicised Sheila). Take notice the next time you go to the Outback Steak House – I have my very own room.
Would I change my name? No. What would I call myself? Do I like it? Yes. I mean, as a writer, what’s better than being born a heavenly, feminine, woman, named after a character in a book? Okay, I left out blind. I’m Scottish, not Irish and if that sounds a bit snobbish or shitty – well, what can I say?
The name fits.