via Daily Prompt: Fierce

Shakespeare comes to mind.  I believe the line from A Midsummer Night’s Dream is something like, ” and though she be but little she is fierce”.  I gave my granddaughter a charm with this quote to remind her of her soccer days.  For a small girl she sure played large. I miss going to her games, which we did from the time she was four until her last year of high school finished only a couple of months ago.  She is now beginning her adult phase and I hope she remains fierce through it all.

via Daily Prompt: Cheat

Earlier this evening I had some twenty somethings here for an impromptu supper.  This happens now and again when my grandson and some friends show up hungry and I happen to have fast fixins on hand.  They were talking about mutual acquaintances who split up because she cheated on him.  Hmmm.  What exactly does that mean in today’s world?  Apparently these young people were dating, which in itself is very different now from when I was young a long time ago.  Dating, if it includes several dates, probably includes sex, not just sharing a malt and seeing a movie.  So, cheating seems to consist of sex with someone else.  In my world it wouldn’t be cheating unless there was a committed relationship.  Dating may not actually be a committed relationship and if it is not then a date with someone else would not be cheating, it would just be a date.

Maybe it’s only cheating if you are sneaky about it.  Now that makes sense to me.  If a girl and a guy are spending time together frequently there may be an implied agreement that this is an exclusive arrangement.  I am not fond of implied situations.  I much prefer explicit definitions of what the relationship consists of and what behavior is expected and what is unacceptable.  So, youngsters, here’s what might save you some grief.  Say what you mean.  Say it early. Assume nothing.  If you are dating and you want to be with someone else be open and honest about that.  Chances are if you are interested in someone else the relationship you have isn’t a committed one.  This is one of those things better discovered sooner rather than later.

Of course there are many kinds of cheating.  It happens in sports and at school all the time. People cheat at work.  Tax cheats are common.  I wonder if I know anybody who never, not ever, had someone else do their homework or sneaked a peek at someone’s paper on a test.  Now I am not much into confessions but I can’t honestly say I never cheated in school.  I am sure that I didn’t cheat on taxes because the consequences could be a problem.

Is a cheater a bad person?  Maybe, maybe not.  And maybe just how awful one is because of cheating is a matter of degree.  Is it really horrible to round the number down a bit when asked about your weight?  Do we refuse to have a person in our life if they didn’t tell a cashier about making a mistake and giving back too much change?  I think we usually consider these to be minor, human failings and tend to overlook them.  Cheating that is also a betrayal is another matter.  I think my young friends have low regard for a cheater because of the betrayal, the lie.  If one of them tells the person they have been going out with that they are going out with someone else they would think that is unkind, but would not call it cheating.

via Daily Prompt: Obvious

My substitute word for obvious is “duh”. Not an especially mature or intelligent statement, but it does at times serve the purpose. For instance my husband might say that I made the dinner I wanted instead of what he would have preferred.  Well, duh.  Or when my dear, marvelous grandson asks if I want him to walk his dog.  Well, duh.

via Daily Prompt: Miniature

Miniature immediately brings to mind very small dogs for me.  I once knew a social worker who carried her tiny dog in her purse everywhere she went.  I believe there is an actress who does the same thing but I am not sufficiently impressed to remember who she is.  Several years ago there were ads in magazines for tiny dogs that fit into a tea cup.  Not my cup of tea.

via Daily Prompt: LearningDaily Prompt: Learning

Learning is living.  When one stops so does the other.  There is something to be learned in every day, often by accident.  I read a lot for entertainment, mostly fiction.  Even though my aim is only to amuse myself or maybe escape to a fantasy world for a bit I learn about cultures, eras and places as I follow the plot. Historical novels let me feel as if I were there better than a history text book might.  I think learning is better and the knowledge acquired has more staying power if the process is pleasurable.

via Daily Prompt: Fifty

For several days I have been looking at these daily prompts and promising myself I would write something, even if only a sentence for each one.  But then my computer died and then the basement flooded and then the dog needed his nails clipped and my husband wanted company watching the Olympics and stuff just kept happening  and I am just now writing after planning for days to do so.  I am going to have to figure out what I will do about that.  Sometime.  Soon.

Fifty immediately becomes an age for me.  I remember fifty.  I thought I was getting old when I had lived for fifty years, but here I am twenty years later and I don’t feel old at all.  My feet feel old, but I don’t.

Fifty dollars is not much money but fifty million dollars is a life altering sum. A fifty / fifty chance of rain doesn’t tell me much about what to expect weather wise.  Fifty or more employees can subject a business to more regulations than fewer than fifty.  I wonder what the process was to arrive at fifty instead of say, forty-eight.

I think I can do this!  I would not have thought about fifty at all without the prompt but there are really many things to be said about it.  Now I wonder what tomorrow’s word will be.