Small children.

I realized today that another characteristic of my perfect storyline is that it contains small children. (Well, at least when I write it.) Maybe they're a testament to the kiddos who've grown up before my eyes and those no longer close by...and the ones who claim both of those characteristics. Regardless, the little girl in this tale is fictional. She's an element of my imagination who's stuck with me through a couple years' worth of stories but who originally came to me, I think, in a dream and who I've gotten to "know" pretty well.

       "What if I call you Ella?" I asked the little curly-haired blonde cuddled up beside me. 
       "Like the movie?!" she asked, excitedly.
       "What do you mean?" I almost regretted that I had to ask, but I just wasn't sure what Daniella was talking about.
       "Ella 'Chanted, silly!" she exclaimed, as if this were the most ridiculous question she'd ever heard. I considered the response but nothing came to mind.
       "I haven't seen that one, Daniella. Is it your favorite?"
       "Yessssssss, silly. Daddy got it for me for my birthday!" Again it was clear that this was the most ridiculous conversation she had ever had. Before I knew it, the four-year-old had leapt off the couch and begun scrambling up the stairs toward her play room. I knew we were about to watch the movie, so I began looking around for the remote control, and before I could retrieve it from the end table, Daniella was running back down the stairs, her speed and excitement nearly causing her to stumble over the bunnies on her purple footie pajamas. "This one!"
       "Well I haven't seen that one. Do you want to show me?" I asked, sure I knew the response.
       "Really?! Yes! Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease?!"
       "Alright, we can watch before bed as long as we rest and don't bounce around," I offered. "The tray is open, so go set it in there gently."
       "Okie dokie," she said with a grin, already halfway to the DVD player. Once she had the disc set, I pressed the tray close button and waited for the disc menu to load. "You look like her," Daniella told me, pointing at Anne Hathaway's picture on the front of her Ella Enchanted DVD case.
       "Thank you, Ella," I laughed as we snuggled in for the night.

Prepare to be graced by this little girl every so often: she made the book cut.


<3 KSM

"Office Observations."

I wore a scarf in the office today. No, not into the office - in it. And no, not an infinity scarf as is currently en vogue - I mean a black knit winter scarf. It was damn cold. As evidence of such fact, I tell you this: Christine Across the Way honed a new talent today - typing with gloves on. Apparently wearing long sleeves is just not enough at the new place.

I should probably preface all this with the fact that I was also frozen out of my last office on a daily basis, but that was because my boss was a 68-year-old man who consistently thought the office was too hot and whose thermostat also regulated my office. It was summer then, so I resigned myself to the fact that wearing a skirt or short sleeves for the purpose of commuting meant I'd need a scarf, pashmina, cardigan, or - some days - sweatshirt for the office. Anyway, my new office is colder and louder than the summer one was. I'm getting used to the noise, but the cold could be a problem.

I'm not the only one who has observed this problem. The Executive Director called maintenance last week, Dominique Down the Hall just received the space heater ordered for her office a few weeks back, and, like I said, Christine Across the Way was wearing gloves.

So back to the scarf. As if it weren't bad enough that I was asked about it, it wasn't even effective. Girl needs a parka to survive in this climate-controlled cubicle! As I sloppily write these office observations, note that my fingertips are shades of yellow, white, and grey, not, in fact, the typical pink of my Prussian self.

It's kind of ridiculous, really, but I wore a scarf in the office today.

Note: The monologue above is based in reality but does not follow my day verbatim. That is, I did not get confronted about my work wardrobe on Day 6.


<3 KSM

Excerpt.

The following is a very brief excerpt from a little something I'm working on. I'd love to hear what you think!

Every so often, the creativity bug bites me. I don't always know what triggers it. It's almost like a recurring syndrome - always there, just sometimes in remission. That's what happened today.

I think it could have been the little blonde girl on the Metro - the one with the sparkly eyes. Those, combined with her huge, genuine smile totally rekindled my internal fire, just as her eyes and smile lit up her face. Oh - and she wore purple shoes. I thought they were red at first, but those were her socks. Yes, red socks with purple shoes. It was totally like me to notice the shoes. It would have been totally like him, too.

<3 KSM