Welcome to Writer’s Quotes Wednesdays Writer’s Challenge. It’s been rewarding to read how profoundly and passionately the WQWWC participants have taken the last few topics. Thank you so much for your mindful poems, essays and memes! If I missed reading your post, please send me a message, or leave a comment and a link on this post.
Sandy of The Sandy Chronicles said in an interview that will post on May 29th that one of the hardest tasks of hosting a challenge is “choosing the topic.”
One of the greatest joys for me is to see what your friends from around the world do with the topic.
My Writer’s Quotes Wednesdays Process
When I started hosting this challenge, I knew that choosing topics would be a hard task, so I set up all the topics for the year and posted them on my page along with instructions.
All week long I read the posts that come in response to the topic and link them to my next draft.
Last Week’s Fabulous Healing Essays & Photos
Please visit at least one or two. You will be blessed.
Collecting quotes and pasting them into the draft post is my next step.
Hope Quotes
“The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit..“
Nelson Henderson
“If you want to build a ship, don’t herd people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea
ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPERY
“Hold fast to dreams,
Langston Hughes
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird,
That cannot fly.”
As I begin the writing process, I look up the word, even though most of us know what the word means, definitions may spark ideas. Using definitions is a popular way to start essays. Synonyms help when writing poetry.
I hope that I have all this done by Sunday or at the latest on Monday.
Definition of Hope
Synonyms for Hope
Writing the post comes next and I’ve played around with this from writing the basics and not creating my own post, to creating a post long enough to put an insomniac to sleep. My favorite kinds of posts to create are posts around a sub-topic based on what I’m doing in life – a series of hikes, events, or trips where I have more photos than readers want to see in one post.
The final steps are: processing photos, creating a Feature Photo in Canva and seeing how many other challenges to which I can link my post. Keeping a list of challenge blogger’s topics allows me to support other bloggers with my presence and comments at least. This week several challenges contain the topic of travel. I have just the thing.
Prescott Walk #13 Thumb Butte Trail
“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.”
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
Over the last few weeks in #WQWWC posts, we’ve talked about getting in shape, nutrition, exercise and healing. It was Vince’s and my hope when we moved to Prescott that we would hike and bike and get into better shape. For a while now, I’ve struggled to breathe as I walk uphill.
Travel Alert: Prescott is a mile-high city. Thumb Butte is higher still. I’m submitting the rest of the post for Restless Jo’s Monday Walk and Friendly Friday’s Road Trip . On Friday I will link it to Natalie the Explorer’s Weekend Coffee Share to give it and my participants a little extra boost. Plus I love Natalie and want to see what she’s up to.
"Climb me," said Thumb Butte As we drove into downtown. "I'll show you the world." 2021 Marsha Ingrao Submitted for Tanka Tuesday
Snakes? Seriously? "You have two choices of trails." Steep or gradual."
We climbed the few steps past the sign. I was already huffing. One side was steeper than the other, but we couldn’t tell which. The trail looked easy enough. It was paved the whole way up. Our neighbors had climbed it the day before and survived.
The weather was perfect, a light cool breeze on a 75 degree day. Not many people going our direction. We did not meet any snakes, fortunately, so that was one fear set to rest.
Yep, it was up there, still quite a ways away. We met people coming down from the Butte. “Are we almost there?” I’d ask them.
“About another half mile. It doesn’t get easier,” they told us.
“I need to take a picture of this Vince. Wait up.”
Click, click huff huff. I hoped I’d make it. The views didn’t change much between breath stops. So I turned inward and feigned interest in a log that looked a little like a toilet seat. Fascinating.
I’d walk a few more steps and shoot out over the city again.
We made some progress. Prescott shrank quickly.
"You call that progress?" I'm up here, pick up your feet. Quit sniffing the trees." 2021 Marsha Ingrao
“We can come back tomorrow and take the other path,” Vince said sympathetically as we turned around and waved good bye to Thumb Butte from a distance.
“Good idea. I’d like that,” I lied. “Let’s get you some ice cream.”
Sadly, we have been too busy traveling back to sea level to test the other side of the trail to see if it really was easier. Maybe tomorrow. Want to come? I hope so.
Sunday Poser
Have I lived a hard or easy life?
Don’t we all hope for an easy life, but life is a mixture and the hard parts build us into decent people if we let them. I digress from my basic Prescott Walk, but with reason. I want to participate in this writing challenge because Sadje has supported me in WQWWC since it started and she always asks great introspective questions. Here goes.
- I am fortunate that I have lived in some beautiful places, like Prescott, AZ where I can get out and hike on most days. Easy peasy
- I have traveled across the US, and have been to Mexico, France, Italy, Greece, Australia, England, and Canada with people I love. That sounds super easy.
- I’m in relatively good health minus having had cancer two years ago. Not so easy
- I had a wonderful mom, grandparents, great-grandparents, a father who provided well for us, a brother, and a safe home. That seems on the easy side.
- My parents divorced and 3/4 our our family moved 2,500 miles from the other 1/4th. That was easy and hard.
- My first husband passed away at age 47 after being ill for most of our 20 year marriage. We were poor until I got my degree and started teaching. I never had children. That was hard.
- Happily, I got my degree and started teaching. Not everyone has that opportunity. Fortunate but not easy.
- My second husband has been very healing for me. We have worked hard and accomplished a lot in 26 years. I have a grown step-son. Again, not easy, but blessed.
- I have a strong faith in Christ and hope for the future.
- I think my life looks easy on the outside, but like everyone I’ve had to work for it. I’ve avoided dangers like drugs, smoking, alcohol, and abusiveness. I’d give myself a 69% easy life, Sadje.
Coming up Saturday
Friendly Friday Challenge Interview with Sandy and Amanda.
Marsha Ingrao - Always Write 
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