Short Stories…150 words

Corinne Mustafa
9/8/15  

                                    

Find the Good

It must be morning. The backs of my lids look  red…used to be my favorite color, but it gets old. Hate to open my eyes. Sick of everything reflecting red. More sick of what has to be done to make coffee or to boil rice. Sick of dried beans and protein drinks. Fed up with the whole damned thing.

After two weeks the sun is still flaring. Forget lights. All communication is down…computers useless. No shopping possible. Money locked up in closed banks. Forget TV. What a drag! Guess it is time to get a grip…get on with the day. I suppose things could be worse, although I cannot imagine how.

Everything is better with the first cup of coffee, even if it takes ten minutes to make ..no Keurig.. My mother said you just have to look for good to find it. Maybe I should start searching for it.

Adult Children

You bring up all your children in the same environment. The variable comes in with the individual personalities that they are blessed or cursed with. You have values about following God, the work ethic, meeting responsibilities that you endeavor to impart to them. Some get it much better than others. There is one more troublesome factor. It is possible for the world to be a stumbling block that an adult child must stagger through such as catastrophic illness of a spouse or job losses that were just bad breaks. This one just loses the get up and go that his siblings seem to have.

I am talking about occurrences of which this adult child is not responsible for. He is overwhelmed in the just surviving and keeping his family together. What is a parent to do? Mourn this misfortune? Come alongside with money and support? Must not forget to pray!

Weekend in Paradise

“Doing anything this weekend?” “Not really. Why?” “Craig and I are going up to the cabin at the lake. Looking to have an adult weekend…no one under forty. You two fit the bill.”  “Ha-ha, by more than thirty years! Thanks, count us in!”

We are on our way, car fully packed with “necessities” required for two days in what is much more than a cabin. In four and a half hours we will be at this heavenly place, which lives in my memory from our trip up last year. A long drive, but  more than worth it. Two days of relaxation in “nirvana,” enjoying the beauty of the lake fifty feet from the cabin, walking along the shore, playing cards, conversations with friends we love. There is laughter, wine and a perfect tri tip for dinner on Saturday night. Who could ask for anything more? Maybe another invitation next summer.