What You Miss

by Nancy Casey

Here we are, all of us, adjusting to the New Abnormal.

A lot of people have new habits. Some are talking about new things. People are feeling uncomfortable emotions. Thoughts are different. Relationships have changed. A zillion things are new in people’s lives. Many of them are things we don’t like very much.

Today in your writing, you will be thinking about how it used to be.

Ask yourself:

What did I have in my life a month or so ago that I wish I still had now?

Then ask yourself:

What did I like about that?

When you take up your writing tools, write about what you miss.  Tell what it is and what it was like. Write what you liked about it.

Your mind might be eager to chime in with what’s crummy and rotten about not having this thing that you miss, or other things you worry about losing, but don’t write those things down.

If the gloomy thoughts come, sort them out by asking yourself:

What’s been taken away from me? What do I miss? Why did I like that?

You might find yourself writing about just one of the wonderful things that you used to have that you can’t have right now, or you might write about many. Explain how it was and what was good about it.

Don’t forget to illustrate.  You can make your page have more pictures than words if you want to. Doodling relaxes your mind. Sometimes a cartoon is the best explanation.

Fill up one page. How long does it take you? If you feel like it takes too long, consider writing with a fatter pen.

When the page is finished read over your work. Make small changes if you need to. Add some color or decoration to the page if you haven’t already. If the page is filled with drawing, add a few words.

When you are satisfied with the page, give it a title and write the date on it, too.

Here is an example of what someone could write.

You can share your work by posting it as a comment below. You can type it in, or take a photo of it and upload the image.

Nancy Casey has lived in Latah County for many years. You can find more of her work here. She occasionally teaches a Write-For-You class at the Recovery Center. For more information about classes and writing certificates, contact Nancy or the Latah Recovery Center.