2021-10-22 The Writing Prompt

A Widow/Widowers group I am in has daily prompts to share our experience. This week one of the prompts was to describe what our loved one looked like.

The words just started tumbling from my head & heart and my fingers could barely keep up typing. The first paragraph below was my post, the second came spilling out after I read what I wrote:

Rick was 5 ft 5 inches, but his frame held the heart of a giant. He was wiry, which complimented his electric energy. He was swarthy -thanks to the Dutch genes on his Mom’s side- with brown eyes that danced and an incredibly warm smile that started in the right corner of his mouth, then spread to the left. I loved watching his mouth beginning to smile. It always reminded me of the sudden warmth of the sun as it comes out from a cloud.

When Rick was really excited about something it seemed as if not only could I see his smile, but I also could feel the vibration of his enthusiasm and hear a ‘hum,’ as if his smile was lit in part by neon. From the first time I saw Rick smile to this present day when I see certain pictures of him, I also feel a sensation of energy and hear an energy-charged hum.

It felt so good to put down my thoughts and then fully detail them. After I wrote the final sentence above I took a long walk. In my head & heart I was talking to Rick, sharing not only what I had written but also instances I remembered from some of the times I had that wonderful ‘multi-sense’ experience of Rick’s smile.

And then it dawned on me, what started as a widows’ group writing prompt to describe Rick had turned into a love letter to him! At that moment it felt as if Rick was walking right beside me. I’ve learned to grab ahold and treasure that familiar yet fleeting feeling.

I took a breath and began to have a better awareness of what was in front of me; the manicured yards, the wonderful dampness from our first rain. And then within about 150 feet I found this, the last two folded petals of a rose in someone’s side yard. It felt like an exchange of expressions of love.