E is for … Everything

By Vita Forest

What do I like about him?  Where do I start?

We can talk, really talk and he listens to me.  He’s a really good listener.  He hears me.  He asks questions and remembers things I’ve said.  He’s not black and white about everything.  He is curious and open-minded, even about some of my crazy habits – and not in a patronizing kind of way either.  He makes me feel like I am just about the most interesting person he is ever likely to come across.

There are little things too.  He reads.  And not just magazines.  We can talk about books.  Can you imagine?  Sometimes we curl up together and read, not talking, reading.  He likes Margaret Atwood, Tim Winton and Wallace Stegner.  He has read Michael Ondaatje – and not just The English Patient.  He has books beside his bed.  He makes time to read.  There was this one day we had a picnic and we hardly spoke – just lay there beside each other, barefoot in the sun.  Reading and sipping red wine out of plastic glasses and holding hands.  (He has a very good picnic set which lives in his car – a good sign, I think).

He is calm.  Things don’t get to him.  He puts things in perspective and doesn’t make a big deal of nothing.  He doesn’t fly off the handle.  He is peaceful.  Maybe that’s because he gardens.  Nearly every day.  He potters about with his plants.  His garden is really beautiful.  And he likes to visit them.  He is a garden nerd like me.

And he has integrity, in his work of course, but in how he lives his life.  He likes being part of a community.  He likes to contribute and he is happy with what he does.  He takes the time to acknowledge that.  He is loyal.  He cares for his family (who are lovely by the way).  And his friends love him, they are very protective of him, and I think they have accepted me.  I think I have their tick of approval.  They are looking after his heart.

We have the same outlook, the same ideals.  I never used to think much about that, I never used to think it mattered, but it does.  This is so easy, so good.

He is an optimist.  He has a lovely way of looking at the world. And being around him make me feel positive too.

And I like the way he looks, which always helps…

He makes me feel calm.  And he makes me feel happy.  Well, you noticed the way I have this silly grin on my face.

And he is kind.  Do you know how much that means to me?  That did not used to be on my list, but now it’s right up there at the top.  He is a kind person.  He helps people, he is thoughtful.  Not in big showy ways – which I don’t believe in anymore anyway.  He is a genuinely good person.

I’m waiting for the rose-coloured glasses to come off.  I’m waiting for the honeymoon to end, but at the moment, what do I like about him?

Everything.

 

A to Z Challenge – Ready, Set…

By Vita Forest

A to Z challenge April 2016

A few days ago, I signed up to the Blogging from A to Z April  2016 Challenge which certainly sounds challenging.  Basically, participants have to do a post a day for the whole of April, with Sundays off for a bit of a breather.  The first post should be about something beginning with A, the second B, and so on, until we reach Z at the end of April…

I have thought of a few topics and plan to write a mixture of Travel-type observation posts, but with the bulk of them being intensive flash-fiction sessions to build my creative writing muscles.  I will give myself a time limit and a topic and produce… something.  There are  few topics for longer works that I might start exploring too.

Apparently, some bloggers have written all their posts already and will just post them in the coming month, but not me I’m afraid.  I have made some rather nice pictures containing the letters of the alphabet, but that is as far as my preparation has gone.  So good luck everybody!  Looking forward to seeing some fine work and discovering new blogs.

It’s really going to be a challenge.  Come along for the ride!

 

Melbourne Micro-story

By Vita Forest

I was here

Above is my submission for Chart Collective’s “I WAS HERE True micro-stories set where you stand” initiative.  I made the meme yesterday, adding some appropriate theatrical bling by way of a photo of an old dance costume of Lucy’s.

There were a lot of restrictions on this piece of writing (which I like as you may know).  These included:

• the stories had to be true
• they had to be set specifically in Melbourne
• and the real doozy – they could only be up to a total of 300 characters long (that’s right, not words, but characters. 300 words is hard enough).

This last rule meant I did many drafts, and then cut and cut and cut, until I distilled my memory into only three typed lines.  There could be no lazy words, no padding.  This post is already about three times longer than the text could be…

If chosen, they will be printed on posters and displayed near the site where they took place.  I really love this idea, reading stories directly related to the place where you are standing.  They were submitted anonymously, so you have the inside scoop if mine gets picked.

Maybe I should start an online Sydney equivalent – a blogging event about places in Sydney.  Let’s call it Sydney in Sixty (that is 60 words).  Have a go, then reply to this post and send me the link.