“You sent those kids to do what!” Mac’s voice boomed.
“It needed to be done, and they are not kids.” Replied Liz.
“They’ve never been to that part of the ranch. You know the road at the crossing is tricky.”
Liz looked out the window and started laughing. “By the amount of mud on them and the truck, I’d say they figured out the crossing.”
“How’d you know they’d be okay?”
“A little bit of optimistic thinking,” she replied to the man leaving the kitchen.
Mac needed to hear about the first supply delivery to the summer cow camp.
“It needed to be done, and they are not kids.” Replied Liz.
“They’ve never been to that part of the ranch. You know the road at the crossing is tricky.”
Liz looked out the window and started laughing. “By the amount of mud on them and the truck, I’d say they figured out the crossing.”
“How’d you know they’d be okay?”
“A little bit of optimistic thinking,” she replied to the man leaving the kitchen.
Mac needed to hear about the first supply delivery to the summer cow camp.
Optimism, gut feeling, positive outlook, trust, do it and deal with the consequences later. They are mindset words that, even as I have aged, get me through each day. At times, the brain has trouble being convinced these words shouldn’t just be punted to the rock pile to be used when I’m in a better frame of mind or the situation changes. But it is those words that niggle their way to the surface to find one good thing from the turmoil my thoughts are in.
When I was young, and I mean pre-teen, teenage and 20’s young, I was like a lot of others in this age group. We thought we were infallible. Sh…stuff happened that caused us a world of hurt and often quick thinking, knee-jerk reactions were needed. All there is to say about that is that youth, naivety, resilience, and probably a lot of bull-headedness pushed us forward to get us through life. We did things that seemed normal to us and when I look back, I shake my head (only sometimes) and wonder what the hell I was thinking.
The years I spent riding horses, being bucked off of them, jumping off haystacks and out of trees—yes, I was a bit of a tomboy, much to the consternation of my English-raised, ladylike mother. She didn’t like it, and said her bit, which didn’t slow me down (much). The one thing I do remember her saying about what she considered to be unladylike actions and antics was, “You keep that up you’re going to be sorry when you’re 40.”
That era of my life may have been a bit risk-taking, rough and tumble, along with some heartache. But the optimism of my youth carried me forward to finally recognize what Mom’s words meant.
I would be remiss if I didn’t add that I beat her suggested year 40 odds by more than two decades. Now with every joint ache and pain that surfaces, comes a memory of when and how it came to be, along with the ultimate optimistic thought of, “I would do it all again in a heartbeat. Damn, we had fun!”
Side Note
I enjoyed re-introducing the Hanna’s Story characters for this prompt. They are a good bunch of people that provide many segues into a more robust storyline I have been looking at of late.
When I was young, and I mean pre-teen, teenage and 20’s young, I was like a lot of others in this age group. We thought we were infallible. Sh…stuff happened that caused us a world of hurt and often quick thinking, knee-jerk reactions were needed. All there is to say about that is that youth, naivety, resilience, and probably a lot of bull-headedness pushed us forward to get us through life. We did things that seemed normal to us and when I look back, I shake my head (only sometimes) and wonder what the hell I was thinking.
The years I spent riding horses, being bucked off of them, jumping off haystacks and out of trees—yes, I was a bit of a tomboy, much to the consternation of my English-raised, ladylike mother. She didn’t like it, and said her bit, which didn’t slow me down (much). The one thing I do remember her saying about what she considered to be unladylike actions and antics was, “You keep that up you’re going to be sorry when you’re 40.”
That era of my life may have been a bit risk-taking, rough and tumble, along with some heartache. But the optimism of my youth carried me forward to finally recognize what Mom’s words meant.
I would be remiss if I didn’t add that I beat her suggested year 40 odds by more than two decades. Now with every joint ache and pain that surfaces, comes a memory of when and how it came to be, along with the ultimate optimistic thought of, “I would do it all again in a heartbeat. Damn, we had fun!”
Side Note
I enjoyed re-introducing the Hanna’s Story characters for this prompt. They are a good bunch of people that provide many segues into a more robust storyline I have been looking at of late.
January 23, 2023, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story that is optimistic. Feel free to explore optimism in all its forms from a positive mindset to toxic positivity. Is it a heartfelt story or a devious one? So much wiggle room for the optimistic writer. Go where the prompt leads!
| Ann Edall-Robson Author, Photographer, Lover of Life "Capturing moments others may never get to experience.” | Be the first to get all our latest news and updates. Join our mailing list. |
#AnnEdallRobson #FromWhereICome #99WordStories #FlashFiction #farmerslife #ranchtradition #optimisim #optimisticoutlook #trustthegut #hannasstory #kidsarecapable #youngadultstory #MoonRisingAnEclecticCollectionOfWorks #connectwithnature #graveltravel #wanderthetrails #inspiredbynature #ConnectWithThePast #storiesofthepast #CapturingMomentsOthersMayNeverGetToExperience #CozyMysteries #cookbooks #PromptWriting #WesternHeritage #TheOldWays #RanchCulture #BeginningToEnd #RuralLiving #WhoaBackUpStop #AnnEdallRobsonPhotography #fromwhereicomefrom
RSS Feed