Remember when I said "daily"?

and then she laughed and laughed...

I did say I would share a piece of flash fiction daily this month, right? I love that version of myself who still has such optimistic hopes for herself, especially that she’s coming up on sixty years of life, at least three or four of them being years in which she absolutely has learned better than to commit to anything on a daily basis. In fact, more than love her, I protect her. She is, maybe, the best part of me¹.

But anyway, my youngest turned 21 last Saturday. That’s wild. My baby is 21. When I think of all I have done since I was his age, I’m so excited for him—there is so much ahead, and he’s got so many chances to try on different ways of being, learn about himself and his purpose, fail a lot, and try again. I wish I had known when I was his age how all that works, and I hope I communicate it accurately to him as he charts his course.

That’s one of the things that kept me from writing over the weekend, but also I’m just terrible at daily things, as I said. But here I am, so let’s go!

Today’s story is from a master, Aimee Bender, and published in SmokeLong Quarterly². “Organs” is a story about endings, things one can’t control but tries to, and maybe the power of words to cleanse our souls—to get us through a “rough patch”, both the writing of them and the hearing or reading of them. And dadgum, Joni Mitchell, there’s another master for you.

Do you have a song that helped you get through a rough patch? Care to share?

As always, thanks for reading, friends. Until tomorrow-ish!

~ Laurie

1. The part who looks for the best in others and expects nothing less from herself. She empathizes, and makes excuses, and sends hug emojis to her friends when they need at least a hug, but maybe a stiff drink and an unlimited credit card.

2. If you’re interested in exploring flash narratives, SmokeLong is a great place to start poking around. They publish fiction and nonfiction, and are known as one of the premiere places to publish by authors in the genre. And they’re run by great people! Bonus!