March 2018 SOLC–Day 17
A huge thank you to Two Writing Teachers for all that they do to create an amazing community of writers and a safe, welcoming space to write, learn, share and grow.
http://www.twowritingteachers.org
I tend toward clutter and like to collect all sorts of objects. In fact, one of my son’s high school friends once told me, “Your house is the messiest house I know. But in a really good way.” (I’m still not sure how I should have reacted to that one!)
Looking out of the kitchen window during a recent snowstorm, I realized that my windowsill holds a lot of stories. If visitors came into my house and looked at that windowsill, they would see an assortment of objects.
They’d see… a gerber daisy blooming, a bright splash of color against the wintry landscape on the other side of the window panes.
But they wouldn’t know…that my daughters gave it to me for Mother’s Day last year and that it’s blossomed three times and each bloom warms my heart.
They’d see… a small nest with two sand dollars resting inside it.
But they wouldn’t know…that the nest mysteriously appeared on our back porch one summer day and cupping it in my hands, I carefully carried it inside. Then I found the sand dollars on my favorite beach, lit by the rays of the rising sun. The quirky juxtaposition of the two, appealed to me–ocean meets sky, both reminders of the joy and peace I find in nature.
They’d see… an oddly-shaped plant
But they wouldn’t know …that once it looked like this.
Despite all odds, it lived and in its small way, is a symbol of optimism and tenacity. I even wrote about a slice about it (here).
They’d see …a small purple jar with paintbrushes in it.
But they wouldn’t know… that the jar was carefully wrapped in T-shirts and transported from Paris to Rome to Dublin and then back to Maine. In Paris it was a yogurt container. Here it holds paintbrushes and memories.
So many stories linger within these seemingly random items. A visitor might wonder, or dismiss them all as clutter. They’d see the items, but they’d never know all the stories that live on my windowsill.
Nix the comfort zone 
I love the structure of this piece…they’d see, but they wouldn’t know…
Memories are what make objects important to us. Your post gives me ideas for writing too.
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Thanks! I’m finding that the more I write, the more I’m realizing just how important the right structure is. Now that we’re empty nesters, I’m struggling with how to deal with all the items in my house that are imbued with memories. My husband wants to cleanse and I want to cling!
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We went through the same thing. I won some “battles” my husband won more. Cleansing is hard for sure.
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Love the structure and content. Your title had me thinking it was going to be about a vase of flowers making you remember that one day spring will indeed come. It was so much more. And I smile everytime I look at the seashell on my windowsill, remembering a lovely day and a fun walk with my husband. You made me smile this morning.
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I love those items that evoke strong memories. The structure for this evolved so naturally–I was thinking about the need to clean off the window sill and then as I looked at each item, I realized there were stories there. And a slice was born! (and the window sill remains cluttered! lol)
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I was writing with another blogger about our touchstones. Love this blog. Stay messy!
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I don’t think anyone needs to be concerned that I won’t stay messy! lol
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I also loved the structure. It got me thinking of my window sill. I enjoyed the story of your objects.
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Thanks! I wonder if there are uncluttered kitchen window sills out there…I’m sure there must be, but it’s such a foreign concept to me!
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Yesterday I literally took a picture of a book with the title Every Object Has A Story (from the Royal Ontario Museum). I was musing about how to use that idea and – boom! You’ve done it. I love the idea of what we see vs what we know. And I really appreciated the nest with the sand dollars – and the tenacious plants!
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I think that participating in Laura Shovan’s daily ekphrastic poetry challenge in February primed me to look a little deeper at the objects in my home. The book you photographed really has the perfect title for this post.
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This is a so beautiful-now I am looking around the clutter in my house with less hostility! haaa
But seriously, this is a great structure. I’m going to add this to Michelle Haseltine’s padlet of SOL ideas and structures
https://padlet.com/mshaselti/sol18
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I laughed at your lessened hostility and am glad I played a role in decreasing it! Thanks for adding my structure idea to the padlet.
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I love this structure!!! It really paints the picture of your home, but how important all of the objects are! At the same time, if something doesn’t have deeper meaning, should I get rid of it? I definitely want to try it as a slice!
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Once again, Cindy, you pose the perfect question. I also have many things in my home with not much meaning but that bring me joy–others that just add to the clutter. Maybe there’s a memory or joy litmus test? By the way, it occurs to me that your wooden tulips are one of those story-imbued objects. 🙂
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All those items are a symbol of a life well lived. I’m reminded that treasures are personal and each tells a story.
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It’s fun to try to tune into those stories a bit more. I suppose I really can’t say I have nothing to write about when I’m surrounded by all these memory-rich objects!
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I really love how you’ve told the stories this way. The pictures really add to the piece. The yogurt jar is really cool!
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Thanks. Isn’t the yogurt jar awesome!? We were so impressed we actually brought home three of them.
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I often find it amazing what objects tell about us, if only they could talk. I enjoyed how you wrote the different perspectives.
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Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
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I found you:) My turn:) I love that you have clutter. I do too. Many do not know the stories behind items. I like how the pictures brought the items to life. Definitely bookmarking for future writing. Thank you!
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Glad you found me, Gina! I hope the structure inspires you, too. Happy writing!
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Once again, your structure inspires. What they see, what they don’t see. I want to do this. I love how “ocean meets sky” in your home.
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I do think that looking at all the art last month inspired me to look at my own surroundings a bit less superficially. Are you participating in any poetry challenges next month?
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I’m thinking of writing a poem a day to my father’s art. Are there some other challenges I should look at?
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I love the poetry of They’d see … But they wouldn’t know…
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What’s on your kitchen windowsill, Dan?
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Clean as a whistle. Clearly, we need a little more messimess in our lives. Any tips?
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I love the way you structured this piece. I am adding the idea to a list of growing ideas that my students can slice about. It also reminds me that we truly don’t know the story behind things until the holder decides to tell it.
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I hope the structure works for some of your students. It would be interesting to see what objects they focused on.
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I love the stories behind your objects and how you unfolded each one for us.
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Thanks! Maybe I’ll just go from room to room and write about my clutter for the rest of the month 🙂
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Sounds like my house too!
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Wonderful! Our stories live in the objects we choose to surround ourselves in! I will look at things in a whole different way now by thinking, “What they wouldn’t know…”
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I think that we need to look at people this way, too, realizing that what we see is just surface. We all have our own stories.
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I have a few odd items around that I can’t get rid of because they have stories behind them – stories that only have meaning to me.
I am sure each piece could be it’s own slice!
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If objects could talk it would be amazing to hear the stories they would tell. What is clutter to one is fond memories to another.
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I am a person who struggles with clutter and mess. I am finding ART in your clutter. Thanks for the perspective! Mark
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Happy to offer a different perspective, Mark! Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
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I love the message in this post. It’s another way to say “don’t judge a book by its cover” (don’t judge a house by its clutter). Your stories are so interesting and make each object even more beautiful. Thank you for sharing!
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Thanks for sharing “The items on My Windowsill” with us. Now I want to know the story of journey of the paintbrushes. Would you tell it soon please?
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I love how you structured this post. I think I might have to try that. My husband likes to collect ‘little things’ as you goes through this life and they drive me nuts! Your slice makes me think that I should try looking at them through his eyes.
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[…] but all these things he wants to trash/sell/giveaway come with memories attached. (See slices here, […]
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