It’s Wednesday again! A lot has happened since last week. I think we’re all finally feeling better again. My daughter’s asthma is now well-controlled, and we had her special education meeting last week. She prefers that I not share too many details, but the one big thing that she has given me consent to share is that she made a big decision. It was partly based on the results of the evaluations done by the school, but mostly it’s just what she wanted.
As of September, we will no longer be homeschooling.
A small part of me is sad. I’ll miss having her here, and I’ll miss doing schoolwork with her. On the other hand, I think we’re all ready for this. She wants to go to school, and I’m looking forward to writing and editing full-time. There were no down sides to either choice, which made it easier.
Moving on, here are my ROW80 goals:
- Read 30 minutes/day—Yes, but not necessarily what I was supposed to be reading. Oops.
- Write 1 hour/day—Finally!
- Write 1 blog post/week that isn’t ROW80 or WIPpet—3 of ’em!
- Write 1 flash fiction/month—Not yet
- Walk on the treadmill 5 days/week—Nope, but I was still sick until the weekend, so I don’t feel too bad about that.
And last but not least, my WIPpet. This is a continuation of last week’s. In case you don’t recall or missed the last few posts, Trevor has moved in with his best friend, Nate, and two guys they met through a mutual friend. Trevor and Nate share a room. Hey, this is four musicians in Boston—they can’t afford something with more bedrooms. Anyway, Trevor and Nate have had a sort of friends-with-benefits relationship, and we last left them contemplating whether or not to…um…benefit (hint: they didn’t).
WIPmath: 3 + 2 + 5 + 1 + 5 – 2 – 0 = 14 dialog paragraphs.
Trevor pulled back. “I don’t think so.” He jerked his head in the direction of the other bedroom.
“Oh, please. We did this in a dorm room with the thinnest walls ever. Besides, Jamie’s all right, and I assume Mack wouldn’t care.”
“I mean it.” Trevor shook his head.
Nate huffed and withdrew his hand. He rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling; Trevor mimicked his actions. They were quiet for a few minutes.
Eventually, Nate said, “This isn’t about keeping secrets from our very obviously cool roommates. Wanna tell me what’s going on?”
“We need to stop.” He looked over at Nate. “I mean, with Marlie and all.”
“You’ve never been all that serious with her,” Nate countered. “If you were, you’d have asked her to marry you already.”
“I am serious!” Trevor insisted. “Besides, I just think…well, with my job and everything…” He trailed off.
“I see.” Nate scowled.
“I don’t think you do.” Trevor sat up and drew his knees to his chest. “Maybe this is part of my life I need to put behind me, you know? It’s time to settle down with Marlie. Gotta get things on track.”
Nate sat up too. “Put it behind you? It’s not a faucet, Trevor. You don’t just turn off your whole identity, and you definitely don’t do it for a damn job.”
“Who said anything about turning off my identity? I’m just saying maybe I need to try having a real relationship for once.”
“What do you mean by ‘real’?” Nate asked. “Real because it’s with a woman?”
Trevor looked down at his hands. “No. Real because it’s more than just messing with each other in bed now and again.” He glanced at Nate, whose face was stony. “I’ve always been with Marlie, and I thought it was understood she and I would eventually stay together. What you and I did was just a little fooling around between friends, right? It didn’t mean anything. ”
I have a feeling those words may come back to bite him in the rear.
If you want to read some other great WIPpets, just click on this handy link. Thanks to K. L. Schwengel for providing a place for us to gather. Happy writing!
I loved this snippet. Could really feel the emotion and frustration.
Thanks! I’d originally written this very differently, but it worked better with this dynamic.
Ouch. yeah. Wrong thing to say, I’m guessing. I like that Trevor is analyzing all of this, though.Often an excellent way to end up with one’s foot in one’s mouth, but it means he cares about the choices he makes and the people around him. 🙂 (Even if he misses something along the way.)
He does care, maybe more than he’s letting on. He also has no idea the effect what he’s said will have on Nate. Trevor’s a guy who wants to do the right thing and somehow manages time and again to make a mess of it.
Those words at the end may definitely haunt him. Great snippet. Good progress on your goals too.
Yep. He’s in a bit of trouble from here on out.
It does feel good to finally have made some progress…right at the end. LOL!
I like the real feel that this snippet encompasses. I feel like this is a situation that exists in the real world. I could really see Trevor and Nate. Good job!!
I hope the transition for you and your daughter go smoothly with her going to school.
Have an awesome week!!
Thanks! Yeah, this is a real thing. They’re coming at this from two very different perspectives, but it’s pretty common. Nate’s pretty comfortable with who he is. Trevor is not. I’m glad it came across as realistic.
‘It didn’t mean anything’ – famous last words. Sounds like Nate may be jumping to conclusions, but mostly because he’s hurt and maybe Trevor could have handled things differently.
Oh, I’m so glad you picked up on Nate’s hurt. He definitely had some expectations Trevor wasn’t going to fulfill. Let’s hope Trevor learns to handle things better in the future.
O no. What hurtful words. Best of luck to you and your daughter and congrats on the big decision!
Hurtful words indeed.
Thanks! This has been quite a journey with my daughter, and I think she and I are both ready for the next phase. 🙂
I love that there was no downside to your daughter’s choice, either way. I’ve had people ask me, “What if they want to go to school”, as though I was keeping them home by force.
The answer’s always been simple. They’re home because they want to be. If they wanted to go to school, we’d register one or both.
And, if that didn’t turn out the way they thought, we’d welcome them back with open arms.
We’re not running a prison, here… =D
I LOVE the snippet. I think Trevor would have fared better if he’d ever TOLD Nate he expected to stay with Marlie (and, if he’s just saying that to insulate himself from what he assumes is a casual thing with Nate, when he’d be open to more, than he shouldn’t be so cavalier about it…) because he clearly just hurt someone he cares a good deal about.
If I were Nate, and I wasn’t just ‘benefiting’ now and then, I’d be hurt, too.
Yes, we’ve made it clear that if they ever want to homeschool again, we can. The choice has always been theirs. My older one went to school in second grade and has never wanted to homeschool again. My younger one chose to stay home, though we were encouraging her to go by the time she reached sixth grade, She was already excited about that, and it wasn’t surprising that she chose to start earlier than we’d planned.
Glad you liked the snippet. Trevor definitely should have been entirely honest with Nate. In his defense, Nate probably should have been honest too. Trevor’s problem is that he’s not really in love with either Marlie or Nate and doesn’t know how to tell them that.
“It didn’t mean anything…” Ouch. Right. Yeah. Of course not. Just fooling around between friends with no strings or anything. Blowing off steam. Yeah. Poor Nate. I hope Trevor comes to realize just how hurtful that statement was.
Good luck with your daughter and her scholastic journey. I’m sure it will be a big adjustment for you both, and hopefully for the best!
Oh, Trevor’s in for some rude awakenings. He’ll find out exactly what damage he’s done.
Yes, the transition to school will be a big adjustment, but what makes it easier is that our family is a team. So whatever we need to do to make this good for all of us, we’ll do it. 🙂
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Wow! Trevor’s reactions were unexpected — at least for now. His uncertainty comes through in a very hurtful way. Poor Nate. This scene is full of frustration and misunderstanding. Well done! And may those precious hours be good to you and your daughter.