“In the cookies of life, sisters are the chocolate chips.” (I dedicate this blog to my writing sisters.)
Sisters of My Heart, If Not My Blood
I’ve belonged to Story Circle Network for 11 years now. It’s an international writing organization that supports female writers in many ways, like giving me the voice I needed to publish my book, Travels With Maggie.
I met a half dozen of the women in my circle at an SCN writing conference held in Austin, Texas back in 2010, when I was still traveling around the country in my small RV. Over the past decade these same women have become the sisters I never had.
SCN members range from prolific writers like Susan Wittig Albert, who founded the organization, to women who are trying to get published, to women who write only for themselves. Most feel the same about writing as I do: To write is as important as to breathe.
The prompt for my writing circle this month was the question: How has Covid changed your life during the past year?
I answered that question in my previous post, noting that because I was retired, didn’t lose my income and was already nesting, the changes to my life were few.
While I’m still puzzling over what to write for the circle, others in the group responded immediately. The piece submitted by Nancilynn Saylor, whose memory of hugs I hold dear from attending five SCN writing conferences with her, delighted me so much that I wanted to share it with others.
So, here goes.
End of the Line
By Nancilynn Saylor
A cold snort from old man winter
Today, does not deter
This aging woman holding
Her broom. No
Quite the contrary
She props the front door open with
Deliberation, determined to finish
Her task with
No dust pan needed.
Each speck and loathsome particle
Sails with precision across threshold into the blustery abyss.
Au Revoir
Auf Wiedersehen
Adiós
Adieu,
Ciao
Sayonara
Then, remembering a phrase from her long ago youth:
“Make like a shepherd and get the flock out of here!”
She wiped her hands together, then slammed the door
Firmly against the jamb.
The scent of black-eyed peas simmering on the stove,
Enticed her back to the kitchen.
Good riddance,2020!
Nancilynn is a Texas girl who knows that eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day brings good luck for the coming year. I had mine. Did you?
Pat Bean is a retired journalist who lives in Tucson with her canine companion, Scamp. She is a wondering-wanderer, avid reader, enthusiastic birder, Lonely Planet Community Pathfinder, Story Circle Network board member, author of Travels with Maggie available on Amazon, and is always searching for life’s silver lining.
Pat Bean's blog 
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