Florida Mermaid Musings

Artists and writers use the term "blocked" when they hit a brick wall with their creativity. And hitting a brick wall is exactly what it feels like; you might be merrily writing away, your characters coming to life, the plot thickening, and boom! For no apparent reason everything stops dead in its tracks. I have been struggling, trying to wrench from my creativity a novel. I began with a short story that really needed to expand and grow. I was so excited in the beginning, setting scenes and getting to know my characters. Then one day I didn't know what the next scene was. My characters stood frozen in place, exceedingly patient, waiting for me to breathe life into them. I grew panicked, tried to write, struck too many false notes, and decided to set the work aside. Since then I have been paralyzed with fear. From time to time I will click over to my "writing" file and read what I have already written, half hoping the characters woke up and went on withou

Being a middle-aged woman sucks. I am inundated with beautiful people on television and magazines who mock my fat thighs and poochy belly. Every ad seems to be for an expensive face cream guaranteed to make wrinkles disappear or a medieval torture device that claims to give me a "ripped" body in six weeks. (What they don't tell you is you actually have to use the machine to get results - hanging clothes on it doesn't count.) My Facebook friends happily post they're off to yoga, or off to spinning, or off to play tennis. Personally, I think they're off their rocker. I have friends who are getting "weight loss" shots from doctors, going to boot camp at the ungodly hour of 5 a.m., or twisting themselves into Pilates pretzels twice a day. They've given up alcohol, chocolate, and coffee. What is WRONG with these people?! Are they truly happy wasting hours a day sweating from physical exertion just to have a firmer butt? Do they really enjoy