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    Lifelines: Things Worth Holding On To
    Lifelines: Things Worth Holding On To
    Lifelines: Things Worth Holding On To
    Ebook67 pages38 minutes

    Lifelines: Things Worth Holding On To

    By Pen

    ()

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    About this ebook

    A thermos that holds more than coffee. Quilting frames handmade by my Great Grandfather. A tree that refused to grow straight and tall. A daughter taking control of her own life. Doodling to stay alive. How a heart attack can change the way we see things.

    These are the things which remind me that each person walks through this world with his or her own unique perspective: perspectives from which others could benefit. In this collection of poetry and essays lies my own unique perspective.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPen
    Release dateJul 30, 2014
    ISBN9781310580062
    Lifelines: Things Worth Holding On To
    Author

    Pen

    Pen was bitten by the writing bug at the age of ten. She has been feverishly writing ever since. A native Georgian she lives in the Atlanta area.

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      Book preview

      Lifelines - Pen

      Lifelines:

      Things Worth Holding On To

      Pen

      ©2014

      Smashwords Edition

      All rights reserved

      ©2000-2013 Pen

      No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, physical or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

      This work is cat-approved.

      ISBN: 9781310580062

      For my beloved Clairee

      I miss you more each day

      For anyone who has had to hold on, even if for just one more day.

      Table of Contents

      In Daddy’s Shoes

      The Age of 36

      Learning Experience

      My Mother’s Hands

      Woman’s Journey

      Venting

      Survive

      Silent Screams

      Pirouette

      Just Desserts

      I Am Woman

      I Never Sent You Flowers

      The Woman Inside

      In a Gutter

      A Work of Art by Nature

      Holding Memories

      Dying to be a Writer? Well, Not Exactly

      Lifelines

      The Quilting Frames

      I Cast My Stone

      About the Author

      From the Author

      In Daddy’s Shoes

      Are you up there? Can you see me? Are you watching over me?

      My first memory of him is fear.

      I was about four years old. I was playing with some wooden log cabin building blocks. As many four year olds are prone to do, I tried flushing one of the logs down the toilet.

      I do not remember how long my father spent with his hand in that porcelain bowl, grunting, groaning and sweating, to get that little piece of wood out of the small space it was wedged in. When he finally retrieved it, he flung it up the hallway, causing it to bounce off the block walls and skid across the kitchen floor.

      That’s how I learned not to flush my toys down the toilet.

      It is also how I learned to fear the brusque, burlish man who was my father.

      Look at me, Daddy! Watch! See what I can do, Daddy? I can ride a bike! And I did it all by myself. What do you mean, ‘it’s no big deal.’ I’ve been trying to learn for months. What do you mean ‘so what?’

      I was not the daughter my father wanted. I was not petite, nor attractive by society’s standards. . .standards to which my father subscribed. I was neither a cute, nor precocious child. I was a quiet little loner; a thoughtful, introspective little girl who learned a great deal from observation. I was constantly aware of my father’s disappointment in me as well as his misery of his own life.

      I took to reading like a fish to water and became an exemplary student. If my father could not have a beautiful daughter, maybe he could be proud of an intelligent one.

      Daddy! Daddy! Look! I caught my first fish! All by myself! But

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