I have been away from Julia’s 100 Word Challenge for Grownups for a while, and feel a little rusty. But, it always helps me get my writer juices flowing, so here is my contribution to this weeks challenge, which is:
Anyway, I thought I’d put reaching this milestone to good use. your prompt for this week is
…you bought her what…
I haven’t put in any punctuation because I don’t want to influence any of you. Normal rules apply – only 100 words, suitable for PG certificate and in by Monday 30th January.
The Best Gift
You bought her whatever she asked for, within the limits of your budget. If she wished it, she had it, in an attempt to give her all her dreams. Little did you know that her most treasured keepsakes lived in a box: mementos of the beginnings of love, faded letters and postcards that cost little but spoke more. Little did you know that what she really needed was not in your power to give, but was something she had to live. Slowly, you recognized that the gifts were not helping, so you gave her one last present—the gift of time.
And now . . . A Message for Julia
I hope that when I reach that ___0 age (or the one that approaches) I am as inspirational and busy as you are. Thank you for everything you do. I wish for you a year full of blessings, joy, adventures, and challenges (the good kind) that you meet with the grace and beauty you have shown us this year.
Jan 24, 2012 @ 09:22:49
Nicely done. The real gifts are the little things, the just being there for them/them for you, a touch, a kiss, a laugh, a note….
I really should be seeking out more prompt pieces to do, to keep me going as well, for Tale Spinning.
Jan 24, 2012 @ 09:29:57
I highly recommend this 100 Word Challenge for Grownups. Julia’s prompts are always excellent and challenging, and the feedback is encouraging. Plus she does one for children which you might want to get involved in (giving feedback to young writers).
Jan 24, 2012 @ 10:45:08
A lovely story.
Such a precious gift is ‘time’ and one we so often forget to give.
Thanks for a great read.
Jan 24, 2012 @ 11:37:08
Thank you for reading, Mike.
Jan 24, 2012 @ 10:50:47
Beautiful writing Lisa. I’m so glad he realised in time that the gift of time is so much more important than material goods.
Jan 24, 2012 @ 11:36:47
Thank you, Sally-Jayne. A lesson we all need to learn once in a while.
Jan 24, 2012 @ 11:03:34
Welcome back! We missed you.
This is a very telling piece for me now. We do get het up in things and forget to enjoy those minutes that we have with the simple things.
Thank you so much for your kind words Lisa. I thoroughly enjoy all the silliness that I am now involved in. It gives me far more than the time & energy it takes me!
Jan 24, 2012 @ 11:36:19
I think this piece is very much where I am at, at the moment. Thanks for the challenge.
Jan 24, 2012 @ 12:44:42
Love your response, Lisa, and happy birthday to Julia—-
Hugs,
Kathy
Jan 24, 2012 @ 12:59:12
Thanks Kathy.
Jan 24, 2012 @ 12:56:47
Thanks for pointing me in the direction of Julia’s 100 Word Challenge. I have been looking for something just like this to get my creative juices flowing again & 100 words is just enough to make it challenging. I hope I can do it justice with my entry for this week. And I hope I can figure out how to post it (not terribly computer savvy), I thought I was doing good to find a place to blog.
Jan 24, 2012 @ 12:58:59
Good luck Lynda. I look forward to reading your entry. If you get stuck, let me know or just contact Julia, she can help.
Jan 24, 2012 @ 13:36:14
From the giver of gifts, it’s always good to remember this.
Jan 24, 2012 @ 14:51:15
Indeed it is.
Jan 24, 2012 @ 13:45:00
Nicely done! Your passion for gifts inside boxes, I remember. That’s the first thing I recall about meeting your blog and didn’t I do a little clip art of Sarah and magical boxes?
Welcome home! Love the new header!
Sandi
http://www.ahhsome.wordpress.com
Lake Forest, CA
Jan 24, 2012 @ 14:51:00
Actually, I think my passion is for empty boxes, because the empty ones carry the magic, and gifts that don’t come in boxes. You did make a clip art of Sarah, I don’t know what happened to it.
Lisa
Jan 24, 2012 @ 15:30:36
Nice message. I wrote a children’s series where the focal idea was a gift with the inscription, “Love is time spent. Share it together.”
Jan 24, 2012 @ 15:37:54
Thanks Ryan. What a great message for a children’s series.
Jan 24, 2012 @ 18:04:48
Very well-written, Lisa. I like the message and the mood. And Happy Day Thursday to our friend from across the pond. Perhaps we can all meet in May when she touches down in NYC.
Jan 24, 2012 @ 20:11:44
I am so ready for meeting you both in May, once we figure out the details.
Jan 24, 2012 @ 18:52:12
I love this, Lisa.
Jan 24, 2012 @ 20:07:10
Thanks, Dughall.
Jan 24, 2012 @ 21:11:08
Lovely. And true.
Jan 25, 2012 @ 05:21:44
So true. The items we treasure the most, rarely have monetary value attached.
Jan 25, 2012 @ 07:28:50
I’m on a mission to focus on gifts that matter now, both giving and receiving.
Jan 25, 2012 @ 08:21:23
Love your piece Lisa – very thoughtful, and very true in so many situations. A really good take on the prompt. Nice to see you back!
Jan 25, 2012 @ 08:26:24
Thanks. It’s good to be back.
Jan 25, 2012 @ 10:24:19
Hey get out of my head will ya! I was gonna use time too lmao
Jan 25, 2012 @ 10:34:14
Guess I beat you this TIME. Bwahahaha! But seriously, I didn’t know I was writing about time until it came out. Yesterday was very much a just write and see what happens day. Oddly enough, my posts yesterday were more successful than my planned posts . . . I’ll never figure it out.
Jan 25, 2012 @ 12:30:04
I like this a lot; it is so true- time is more precious than any material object yet is the one thing we all often waste.
Jan 25, 2012 @ 13:09:04
I think I need to change my attitude about what is a waste of time, meaning that lying fallow for a while is acceptable.
Jan 26, 2012 @ 06:14:52
It’s the little things we treasure the most. I agree with Anna about time being so precious and so often wasted. This is a beautiful piece!
Jan 26, 2012 @ 07:55:39
Thanks Buddha. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’m trying not to waste time, but I’m not succeeding at the moment.
Jan 26, 2012 @ 08:34:33
A lovely message – and isn’t it what we all truly want? Time, spent in harmony with those we love, or even alone with out thoughts.
Jan 26, 2012 @ 08:59:35
Thanks for reading. Time, it is both our friend and our enemy sometimes.
Jan 27, 2012 @ 16:24:01
So true that it’s often not what we buy that is the best gift of all.
Jan 27, 2012 @ 17:04:37
Thanks so much for reading.
Jan 28, 2012 @ 15:24:12
A lovely story with a message in our material age.
Jan 29, 2012 @ 12:06:20
Thanks for reading and commenting isobel.
Jan 28, 2012 @ 15:26:54
Such depth, love it, well written Lisa!
Jan 29, 2012 @ 12:05:57
Thanks Gill.
Jan 30, 2012 @ 11:59:26
What a beautiful piece with such a lovely meaning. The gift of time is a wonderful gift far better than anything else x
Jan 30, 2012 @ 12:03:14
Thanks. It’s not a gift we often get or even give ourselves, but we should.