Life Lessons

Wes at Gasworks Park on Father’s Day 2012

Today is the three-month mark of  our sweet Hannah’s passing.  I miss our girl every moment of every day.

I’m trying to devote a few days a week to writing, carving out focused time at the computer.  Yesterday I felt compelled to explore how to take a story that takes hours to tell, and find its core.  What would it be like if you only had 5 minutes to tell the story?  What about 1 minute?

On Bainbridge Island there is a non-profit called Field’s End that serves the writers’ community.  I have admired their program from afar, not ever feeling confident or ready to explore a class or to attend an event.  I read that they are doing an oral storytelling evening in July.  The theme?  Away from Home.  The challenge?  Tell a story in 5-minutes, no notes, no cheat sheets.  The model they are using is from The Moth, a non-profit in New York where oral storytelling is taken to the stage and to radio.

After thinking about this for weeks, I finally took a stab at this challenge.  I spent the day writing – long essays, even a fairy tale version.  It felt great, and while I am likely not going to set foot on a stage anytime soon to orally tell this story, I love how it came together and how it brought me to the essence of our girl.

I was reminded of a quote by Joseph Campbell, “We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”

Our life lessons from Hannah.