Wednesday's Words on a Friday

The original Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and eventually taken over by a moveable feast of participants when Delores had computer troubles.

The aim of the words is to encourage us to write. A story, a poem, whatever comes to mind.

If you are posting an entry on your own blog, please let us know so we can come along and read it.

This month the words are supplied by Margaret Adamson& Sue Fulcher and can be found here.

This week's words are:

1. ironically
2. trove
3. reflecting
4. visit
5. dressing gown
6. buttercup

and/or:

1. chronic
2. slippers
3. stretching
4. chuckled
5. technical
6. practice

Here is my short story:

Every time Aunt Mavis came to visit, her large carpet bag was a veritable treasure trove of gifts for us children. While she sat with Mum drinking numerous cups of tea, they'd discuss her chronic back problems while we were allowed to rummage at will through the bag and divvy up the surprises inside. an easy enough job, since the items were always definitely boy or girl themed and there were only two of us. Myself, Justin, and my twin Janet.

One year, Janet received several toys along with a dressing gown and matching slippers in a lovely buttercup yellow colour. My set was forest green. Ironically, given our individual colouring, the forest green should have been Janet’s but since I would look truly awful in buttercup yellow with matching fluffy slippers, we agreed to keep things the way Aunt Mavis had intended.

One of Janet’s toys was a kind of reflecting, magnifying lamp that somehow reflected a magnified image of a picture onto a sheet of paper so she could learn to draw the image for herself. I knew it was for her as I myself had no interest in drawing, preferring to build things, so kept the box of Meccano as I handed Janet the box of pencils. In years to come, my interest in fiddling with tiny screws and miniature parts evolved happily into the more technical use of putting together computer parts, while Janet’s drawings became illustrations for children’s books.

We both ran to thank Aunt Mavis, arriving in time to see mum explaining her new hobby, the yoga practice recently opened in town. Mum showed us all a couple of the stretching exercises and we all enjoyed an afternoon of chuckles watching stiff old Aunt Mavis trying to bend and sway.