Snippets {edition three} - your responses

It's week three of Snippets, and while I am loving the prompt/response/collaboration, I am realizing that a weekly segment may be more frequent than I can commit to. I'm thinking of posting a new Snippet monthly and then giving you all a week to respond, but we'll see. I'm notoriously spur-of-the-moment, so who knows when I'll bust one out next. Keep your eyes out, will you?

This week there were three responses, so I am featuring them all here in this post. Please do click over and visit their blogs if you have a minute.

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Alarm by Elizabeth @ clarity-chaos.com

The alarm had been ringing for so long it eventually became part of the background noise.

Ring by Tara

Snippets #3 by Melanie

The alarm had been ringing for so long it eventually became part of the background noise. The fuzz of static on the television. The hum of the refrigerator. Nothing more.

When he held her too tight, when his words knocked her down, it was there. The gentle surging of a furnace, the force of air rumbling through vents.

She heard it clearly at first, a sharp jolt that rattled her heart. In the quickness of the moment, the feeling of his rough palm on her cheek. Not violent, not harsh enough for even a passerbyer to notice. But there was a weight and a firmness in his touch, a squeezing of his thumb along her jawbone. Even as he held her in the moments after an she breathed the familiar scent of his skin, inside she heard the clanging of change, the hoisting of a red flag, an omen.This will not end well.

Alarm Dreams by Jade

The alarm had been ringing for so long it had started to blend into the background. But rather than hit the snooze button again, she let it ring on, preferring to adjust to the noise than to venture an arm out into the cold air of her flat.

In the past year or so she had become more aware of the value of life; partly through experiences of her own and partly through reading about the experiences of others. You could say her outlook on life has matured and it infuriated her when those close to her didn’t realise how lucky they were.

This was on her mind this morning as she thought about the day ahead and all it’s possibilities. Although, it was likely to be just another ordinary day. She hoped she would be able to appreciate the beauty of this ordinary day and not get caught up in the monotony of the day to day tasks without being grateful for what she had.

She wondered what it would be like to be a ‘morning person’. Sure, she could muster up some positive feelings for the day ahead, but she had never felt that energy and enthusiasm that some people had in the morning, or at least gave the impression they did.

If you really, really loved what you did each day, would you actually bounce out of bed each day eager to get started? How do you know if you really do love what you’re doing , disliking or hating something is often easier to identify. We so quickly get used to our daily routine, it starts to become part of our identity. How do you know which options are best for you? The only way to be sure if to try every option- but where would you start?

She pulled the covers up right under her chin, sometimes over-thinking life just made life more complicated. Perhaps all she needed was one more snooze – perhaps living in a warmer climate would help her get out of bed!

She braved the cold air, stretching out her arm to hit that wonderful snooze button, just one more time. Bringing silence to the room, allowing her to drift off into a day dream about living somewhere warmer and the many alternative ordinary days she could be about to experience, because she realised that no matter what she did in time it would become routine and ordinary too. There was much to celebrate about the ordinary day and the first thing she was grateful for was the snooze button, but there was potential for so much more today.

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They're great, aren't they? I love this stuff. So no Snippets next week, but I'll bring it back soon. Thank you all for playing over the last three weeks, and please do play again.

I'll leave you with my own response.

Alarm

She heard it the moment it went off - blaring in her ears and jarring her to the bone. Lights flashing, the alarm rang out in stereo.

But she shoved it back - averted her eyes, dialed up the soundtrack of distraction.

If I don't face it, don't look it in the eye, it isn't there. Right?

At first it was hard to ignore; it interfered with every aspect of her life. But she learned to function through the blare and the glare, to live with the headache, to numb the heartache.

With time, the clamor took on a sick kind of comfort, the snug fit of familiarity. And though the warning bells didn't subside, she managed to block them out. She'd keep on the way she was, even if it meant going out like a frog in boiling water.

The alarm had been ringing for so long, it eventually became part of the background noise.

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