Having just returned from the Whidbey Island Writers Conference, I would like to share with you one of the writing exercises I did in a workshop about sentence structure. One of the sentence forms we studied was called “repitition” whereby one word is said over and over again to emphasize a thematic point in the story. In the writing exercise, we had to come up with a word that evoked the theme of what we write about. I write about parenting, so I chose the word “explode.” We had to write for 2 minutes straight using our chosen word in EVERY line of our piece of paper. This is what I ended up with – and I thought it was worth sharing. Any parent (especially where siblings are involved) can relate.

I explode when so many voices want me at the same time. Then they explode when I don’t respond immediately. I explode when I want an hour to work and then I explode when I see the cheerios all over the floor. Back and forth we explode at one another. This is like a tennis match with a ball that explodes. Over and over again, I explode. They explode. Until our faces are red, our bodies exhausted. Did I explode this much as a child? I remember my mother exploding many times. I understand why and how a parent explodes not that I am one. Then, in rarer moments, I explode with great waves of love for my children and they explode back in kind. They are boys, so they l with their voices and their wrestling matches and their battles, while I explode with my fear that one or the other will end up dead as a result of their antics. I explode with calmness, too, especially when I have carved the time to write, to meditate. To “explode” has such a negative connotation and I explode like this often. But it can also be an explosion in the direction of fervent love. I explode with pride at their accomplishments and I explode with great joy at mine. I burst forth with love and I admit, I love to explode.