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The prompt: Think of a very happy day in your life. Describe what happened on that day and how it made you feel. Were you anticipating it when you woke up, or did you have no idea? What did the people around you say or do?
Just write and don’t overthink. What you write really doesn’t matter. This exercise is designed to get you excited and get your juices flowing, and that’s the only thing that matters.
Source: ridethepen.com
My response:
My daughter goes to the zoo
My husband and I took our daughter to a zoo for the first time when she was a few months shy of her fourth birthday. She has always been a fan of animals, from her taste in TV shows to her preferred to toy. Give her a stuffed animal and she’ll play with it. Give her a Barbie, and she’ll just toss it aside.
As we walked from our car to the entry, I held her little hand, and she just kept saying, “I’ve never been to the zoo before! I’m so excited!” Just that alone put a smile on my face. It's one of those memories I hope I never forget, even if dementia sets in for me.
Once inside the gates, my daughter eagerly walked up to every cage and every animal. It was late June, which is dang hot in our neck of the woods. So her dad and I, both our 40s, were running out of steam well before she was, but we kept plodding along with her as we all explored.
One time, my husband and I were just walking along, when she stopped and yelled “Mommy! Daddy!” We had come up on one of the large storm grates that amusement parks and zoos often have. My husband and I, as adults, walked right over them without giving them a thought. But to my little 3-year-old, that storm grate was terrifying. I had a flashback to my own childhood when those storm grated scared the crap out of me, too. I was always afraid my foot would get stuck or the grate would collapse under the weight of my 50 or so pounds. Like mother, like daughter, I guess.
But we explained to her that it would be OK, just be sure you step on the metal part, we said. But we were more than happy to help her across, too.
Later as we visited the elephants, her feet started aching a little, so her dad scooped her up and perched her on his shoulders.
When the baby elephant emerged, she noticed his mouth looked like he was smiling.
“He’s happy! He’s happy!” She said, clapping from her perch on my husbands shoulders.
When it was time for the zoo to close, she didn’t want to go. I thought she would throw a tantrum, but before the fit was underway, she'd spied the gift shop and we headed inside. She chose a reindeer she named Sven, because she was obsessed with Frozen at that time.
Clutching her reindeer in the car a few minutes later, she drifted off to sleep.
It was a wonderful family day.
***
More Writing Prompts
As we walked from our car to the entry, I held her little hand, and she just kept saying, “I’ve never been to the zoo before! I’m so excited!” Just that alone put a smile on my face. It's one of those memories I hope I never forget, even if dementia sets in for me.
Once inside the gates, my daughter eagerly walked up to every cage and every animal. It was late June, which is dang hot in our neck of the woods. So her dad and I, both our 40s, were running out of steam well before she was, but we kept plodding along with her as we all explored.
One time, my husband and I were just walking along, when she stopped and yelled “Mommy! Daddy!” We had come up on one of the large storm grates that amusement parks and zoos often have. My husband and I, as adults, walked right over them without giving them a thought. But to my little 3-year-old, that storm grate was terrifying. I had a flashback to my own childhood when those storm grated scared the crap out of me, too. I was always afraid my foot would get stuck or the grate would collapse under the weight of my 50 or so pounds. Like mother, like daughter, I guess.
But we explained to her that it would be OK, just be sure you step on the metal part, we said. But we were more than happy to help her across, too.
Later as we visited the elephants, her feet started aching a little, so her dad scooped her up and perched her on his shoulders.
When the baby elephant emerged, she noticed his mouth looked like he was smiling.
“He’s happy! He’s happy!” She said, clapping from her perch on my husbands shoulders.
When it was time for the zoo to close, she didn’t want to go. I thought she would throw a tantrum, but before the fit was underway, she'd spied the gift shop and we headed inside. She chose a reindeer she named Sven, because she was obsessed with Frozen at that time.
Clutching her reindeer in the car a few minutes later, she drifted off to sleep.
It was a wonderful family day.
***
More Writing Prompts
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