In struggling to come up with something to write today, I decided that this would be the day to try something new; something found through reader other posts in the Slice of Life Challenge. I considered several options and kept coming back to the ABC's of Me but past experiences held me back. I kept thinking of all of those Stupid-Get-to-Know-You-Games in middle school and high school where you had to introduce yourself with a describing word that starts with the first letter of your name. It didn't matter if it was your first, or last, or both - C and B were equally difficult.
Caring sounded trite, Comedic too self-indulging (or wishful thinking), Contrite was not in my vocabulary at the time...
And then there was my last name which started with B: Blessed sounded churchy. Behaved would just perpetuate the Goody Two Shoes image. And neither Breath-taking nor Beautiful were options...
I couldn't even default to my middle name because J would be just as difficult.
And then I thought of all of those acrostic assignments where there was always at least one letter that just didn't fit the theme.
As my daughter, who is also participating in the challenge, waited for the school bus, we talked about my dilemma. She is headed out on a field trip today so we both know what her topic will be tonight. However, she had an interesting thought about whether or not I chose to do the ABC's of Me. She said, "Well, at least you have each of our first names."
And right there she had me convinced. Eight children. Eight different letters. I was so careful and purposeful to give them names that started with different letters. Even those who came in older, with names, have so far cooperated with my plan. I somehow thought this would minimize confusion when trying to recall a name on the spot (I was wrong) and that it would help other people see them as individuals (slightly more successful on this one). Yes, Eden's right; eight children = eight letters done in the ABC's of Me.
Okay, I'll do it.
Tomorrow.
Writing on demand is a struggle. Writing about ourselves always seems very challenging. I loved your description of you and your daughter's conversation. I could see it in my mind.
ReplyDeleteI have seen this idea a couple of times and I think I want to try it. But this will take some work...especially since I don't have eight kids! :)
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