Writing Prompts 7.29: Surprise

Every week we're invited to join in Writer’s Workshop by responding to one of the provided writing prompts posted each Tuesday. The directions are simple:

• Choose a writing prompt from the list provided that inspires you most.
• Write.
• On Thursday, Link up by pasting the URL from your post into the list of thumbnails displayed at Mama's Losin' It. Just scroll to the bottom of the thumbnail list, click the bold words you will see that say “Click here to enter” and you’re all set!

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Writing Prompts:

1.) A song you loved when you were younger, but now listen to the words and…
2.) Create a list of your top beauty must haves!
3.) Something you once said to someone that you wish you could take back.
4.) Write a blog post inspired by the word: surprise.
5.) Share a recipe you’re loving.

Surprise

The first things I think of when I hear the word surprise is birthdays, surprise parties, and people jumping out of cakes. Which is interesting, because I can't remember ever seeing either of the last two. I can remember experiencing the first, however.

The biggest surprise I ever had was when I was taken to London for my birthday. I can't remember how old I was now, but I was at that age where I was really starting to enjoy the bustle of the big city. My parents had taken me for a day out and I was loving it. It had been planned well in advance, so no surprise there. Evening came and we were still in London. This was a nice surprise as we usually went home before dinner time- meals can be so expensive in the big city. It was getting dark and I can remember being dazzled as all the theatre and restaurant lights began to come on. My eyes opened wide as I saw the signs from the shows. I began to ask if there was any way we could go into one, begging from my parents to find a way. And then we stopped outside 'Joseph and His Technicoloured Dreamcoat'. This was a show that I had never seen, although I had listened to my parent's copy of Jason Donovan signing the songs. Philip Scoffield was Joseph at the time- a man I had grown up watching with Gordon the Gopher in the broom-cupboard. We stood there for a while, just looking, and then one of my parents scuttled off to do something (maybe go to the toilet?) before we went home. When they returned, we went to have a closer look at the posters. Then in to the gift shop. Before I knew it tickets had been magicked out of a hidden pocket and we were going in to see the show. Imagine my surprise!

For me, surprises are magical things that take you out of ordinary life. They are special and unique. They are unexpected. They leave no time for worrying about change, or imagining the worst. 

The face of surprise is the child, eyes lighting up and mouth wide. Pure happiness combined with the innocence of youth. As we grow up we somehow become less surprised by life. We long for the past when even a strawberry could be a surprise. I remember hearing once on the radio about a young girl who was so surprised by a simple rainbow that she mentioned it to everyone she met for the whole day- they just couldn't stop her! And then, on the way home, they drove past the same spot and she sat looking out for that same ribbon of colour, hoping to capture again her first surprise. Yet the only surprise she got was that it was no longer there!

As adults we search for surprises but fear that they may be like that child's, lost forever. Maybe if we stop seeking and simple look at life with wonderous eyes, then we might find them again!

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