RANDOM BLANK THOUGHTS OF BLANK RANDOMNESS

July 26, 2015

Kablam! It’s time for another random thoughts Doodle, mostly because at this particular time my mind is a blank. So this may turn into a Doodle of random blankness or a blank page of randomness or a thought on the random blankness that occurs when one sits down to write. I have no idea what may fly out of my head. Isn’t that fun?

Random Blank Thought #1–Does July seem to go on and on to anyone else? I feel as if I have lived more than a month’s worth already and a whole week remains! Maybe that’s due to the fact that so far this month I’ve traveled to Arkansas and Kansas City and back, reorganized nearly my entire house, entertained my oldest daughter and the two grandchildren here at home for a whole week, driven the nannied children back and forth across town about five billion times, vacuumed two tons of dog hair off the bloodhound, wiped up a tub full of dog drool, read four books, broiled in the heat when not driving through monsoons and eaten enough chocolate that I’m pretty sure if my body were turned inside out I would look just like a slightly shriveled, stale Easter bunny that needs to go on a diet.

Random Blank Thought #2–Even though July has seemed interminable, the idea that we are now on the downhill slide to Christmas makes me quake in my boots, and I’m not even wearing boots right now! Time is so weird, don’t you think?

Random Blank Thought #3–Since my word for 2015 is PLANS, I’ve decided to chuck planning out the door to live spontaneously. For me that means having no idea what meals we’re eating when, so I end up grabbing whatever off the shelves at the store with no thought to coupons or balanced nutrition. That has transformed me into not only a pudgy Easter bunny, but a pudgy spendthrift Easter bunny. Chucking plans may not be quite what God is trying to teach me. Being flexible and more of a go-with-the-flow type of person is most likely what I’m supposed to be learning. And maybe toning down the all (PLAN) or nothing (CHUCK PLANS) mentality I’ve gone with most of my life. Maybe I should quit planning in Sharpie and try planning in pencil, which happens to be the name of a blog that I enjoy reading. Check it out [here](http://planninginpencil.com).

Random Blank Thought #4–While in KC I went through my deceased sister’s clothes for my brother-in-law. I brought some home and now I need to go through them again to decide what I really want to keep. I don’t want to do it, so the bags are just lying on the floor of the bedroom mocking me. Maybe eventually I will be able to do it one bag per week or so. I know Barb would prefer that I wear them rather than random people buying them from Goodwill, but it seems so strange.

Random Blank Thought #5–I sponsored a category in the Kentucky State Poetry Society this year and I will be judging the entries! This excites my little poetic heart, but it also scares me a bit. What if the greatest poem ever written arrives in my packet and I don’t recognize it? What if that poet never writes again because his/her best effort didn’t win anything in this contest? What if I give the first prize to a total dud of a poem because I like it? But then maybe that poet will continue writing and growing and become great! What if I just do my best and figure it will all work out fine. Yes, that’s what I should do.

Random Blank Thought #6–I’ve gotten into chopped salads at Kroger. They come in bags with little dressing packets and sometimes nuts or seeds to throw on top. I can make three lunches out of one bag without actually going through all that work of making a salad! Why did it take me this long to discover something so handy?

Random Blank Thought #7–I’m reading Harper Lee’s *Go Set a Watchman* right now. I read several reviews before I started it, some encouraging, some not. Here’s my take on it. How many times do we get the chance to read what is basically the first draft of one of the greatest novels ever written? Next to never, that’s how many! That’s why I’m excited about reading it. It thrills my little writer’s heart to be able to see how an author first conceived a novel, and then with direction from an editor, reworked it into a Pulitzer Prize winning book. As I read along, I continue to be astounded by the wisdom of the sage advice of every Composition or Creative Writing teacher worth his/her salt: Write and edit, rewrite and edit, write, write, write and don’t give up! Woohoo!

Here’s are a couple of random pictures of two of my favorite cutie-pies. After that the rest of this Doodle is PURE BLANKNESS!