Your writing prompt this week is
NEW BEGINNINGS
I thought this would be an appropriate prompt with it being New Year’s Day tomorrow. But you don’t have to write about New Year. Your new beginnings can relate to anything, real or fictional.
Fact or fiction, prose or poetry, I would love to read your thoughts on this week’s prompt, but there’s no obligation to share your writing. Here is the work you shared on the last prompt FAMILY.
‘Dough and Doughnutability’
by J. Nostin (with a little help from Louisa Maybe Alcott)
At breakfast, the main topic of conversation for the Gannet family was the forthcoming annual trip to the seaside.
All the preparations had been completed well ahead of time – although the crust-off cucumber sandwiches probably wouldn’t survive the wait. It was only the fact that Saturday didn’t follow Tuesday closely enough that was delaying the excursion setting off to reach the finest golden sands and spend the most luxuriant beach-time that money and importance could buy.
Jane, Mary, Catherine, Lydia, and Elizabeth Gannet were so excited about the beach that they couldn’t sit still – not for a single (and therefore unmarried) minute.
Saturday finally arrived – having been unable to sidestep Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday – and the Gannets happily set off for warmer climes.
But, little did the Gannet sisters know, that the Marcher sisters (those ‘little women’) were also headed for the seaside.
Named Margaret (Meg), Josephine (Jo), Elizabeth (Beth), and Amy, the Marchers, who, true to their name, were marching towards the exact same point upon the coast that the Gannets had pinpointed as ‘the best spot upon the planet’, and ‘a simply must-have place to be settled at’.
The Gannets and the Marches arrived simultaneously (as was only appropriate) and caught a sight of each other at the exact same moment. Thus ensued a dash for the optimum spot upon the golden sands.
After some slight compromise, the two sororities were established in their respective areas, separated by decorative wind-breaks, and a slight social standing.
There was a sense of ill-ease in the air (along with the salty tang of the sea).
That was, until a Mr. Darcy / “Laurie” Laurence figure waded ashore from the sea, arriving in some style unto, onto, and upon, the deep golden grains of the sand-hewn beach.
There was a collective “ohhh!” from either side of the windbreaks, as the Gannets and the Marchers espied the young man’s dripping attire and comely appearance.
All was to play for upon the coastal trim – a stranger had stepped forth from the sea, causing many ripples.
And he knew it.
Anne is Writing:
Family was such a loaded word till I met you and its meaning changed. At Christmas as a child, I used to ask Santa for a new family, but I don’t think they ever delivered the letter to him. As I grew older, I’d sit on the back step and imagine my ‘real’ family. I was convinced I’d been born to some poor but loving soul who’d had to give me up because the Church demanded it. Maybe she was a nun? Or a child of strict but wealthy parents who’d see the error of their ways and come find me. As I bore the torments and trials, I dreamed and I imagined and I manifested. Though I didn’t know that word then. Or the idea that such a thing existed. And yet…
You appeared. Somehow I ‘knew’ you. We went back through our lives to see if we might have met before. A few close calls but our paths never actually crossed. Within months I knew at last what ‘family’ meant and it was better than even Coronation Street showed. I’d always thought that was a fantasy programme, like Dr Who.
Your mum was an amazing woman. Full of flaws and faults but overflowing with love. She didn’t believe my stories. She asked you if I was exaggerating or making stuff up. You told her it was being watered down actually. I rarely told anyone the truth, or at least my ‘truth’.
Your mum said ‘it was unbelievable but her loss’ and easily filled the gap. I learned about love and family. It wasn’t all perfect, there were rows, harsh words, and things better left unsaid. But there was also hugs innumerate,generosity of time and attention, and unintentional kindness just because…
So unlike a family where each fought to be the alpha and each didn’t know they never would be because real life isn’t about survival of the strongest, it’s actually about the kindness of the softest.
Susan Batten:
It Runs in Families
What I owe my family
can never be repaid;
it spurs me on
to give my kids
that loving world remade.
If I can be there
through their days,
and show how much I care,
then hopefully they’ll help their kids
get through life’s wear and tear.
During Christmas our family is fine.
There are some who perpetually whine.
There are some full of joy.
How they giggle, annoy
all the whiners, but family is fine.
Clan Evolution
We all have some relatives we wished belonged to another’s family…
The elder aunt who always pinches your cheek until it hurts,
Those who expect that their beliefs should be yours,
Those who believe that distance equals silence –
And yet there are others who are always there when you need them.
Those who rescue you when you lock your keys in your car,
Or when you’ve locked yourself out of the house.
Some say you can choose your friends, but not your family.
But then sometimes your friends become your only family –
When you have to move far out of town, or even just miles away.
We often try to connect with those who share our interests
So we join sports groups, gyms, or volunteer –
All good things when one’s own family chooses to ignore you
Except for the once a year birthday call or holiday card.
When we are younger we often can’t wait to leave the nest
And then we may find someone we want to spend the rest of our lives with
Most often they have their own families that attempt to meld with ours.
When your own children arrive you want to do things right –
You want to keep them for as long as you can, but also let them go
When the time is right for them to spread their own wings and fly.
And then perhaps grandchildren show up…
The clock doesn’t stop when a newborn takes their first breath
Or when a loved one takes their last…
We hold on to our own definition of family for as long as we can,
Making some changes and compromises along the way.
Even when we feel ignored, we still ponder how we can fix things
Mend those broken fences, while embracing and holding tightly
Onto those precious family members that let us hold them dearly.
holidays
when old memories
mesh with new
You can’t choose your family but if you are lucky they will love you forever as if you had.
Tomorrow is Christmas Day and Hubby and I will be spending it together with the dog. He and Maya are my family, the ones constant in my life.
We will have presents under the tree, a traditional Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, and will probably have a nap in the afternoon after walking the dog.
Gone are the days of the Santa Run to family on Christmas Eve, coming home with a few parcels for us. For years, everyone thought we put a sign on our door on Christmas Eve which read
‘We’ve wished you a Merry Christmas, now sod off.’
I have no idea who started that assumption, but it certainly was not us.
As a result, Christmas Day has usually been just the two of us, plus the dog of the time, apart from a couple of instances when the inlaws and my Mum came for Christmas dinner, and after my FIL died, just the two Mums, though we had to collect them.
After we moved away, it was always just us. Family never visited when we were local, so it wasn’t surprising we never saw them unless we went Down South, but it was never for Christmas.
We always have a lovely day though, and perhaps someone might fancy a bit of company and knock on the door as there are a lot of people who live alone here.
Christmas 2023 was shared with our dear friend who passed away in July 2024.
Her dog Kela and Maya got on really well, and she loved Maya to pieces.
To be honest, I miss the family Christmas gatherings of yesteryear sometimes.
There are a lot of happy memories, some documented here, but times, people and attitudes have changed, and so many loved ones who made my Christmases so special are no longer with us.
The children from those memories are now parents or grandparents in their own right and none have time for old fogies like us.
That doesn’t worry me though as they are all strangers to me and people I don’t know anything about. I am just a relative who lives far away who may be mentioned occasionally and perhaps someone might eventually ask ‘Who?’
Not all of our family is here anymore. Several are in Heaven and one is in Ohio. Another couple are in Florida. So we gather with the family that is here in Texas. It may not be on Christmas Day, but sometime during the holiday season. We can FaceTime with the out-of-state peeps.
As long as we feel the happiness only seeing family brings, I’m happy!
Gypsie’s Wonderful World of Words:
Family Dysfunction
What I’ve always longed for
but never can I find
The support of a loving family
a special person by my side
To get all together in daylight
or start of night
For birthdays and holidays
or just to celebrate life
For fun and jubilation
or smart conversations
Sometimes just to sit as one
in quiet observation
This scenario for me it seems
lives here in my imagination
My line and my kind know
only indignant justification
Upset, chaos, stress and turmoil
that’s what’s thrived upon
Watch out – be careful – look away now
it’s eggshells we must all walk on
Dysfunctional malfunction
multiplied by generations
Quietly I slip away
hiding hurt and deep frustration
Who We Carry Home
On Christmas Eve,
the word arrives like a knock on the heart,
soft, familiar, impossible to ignore.
Family is not only those
whose laughter fills the room
or whose chairs scrape the floor tonight.
It is also the silence
where a voice once lived,
the empty space that still knows their shape.
Family is memory warming its hands
at the fire of remembrance.
It is the way a name, spoken quietly,
can undo us and remake us
in the same breath.
Some are missing,
not absent, but differently present.
They arrive as photographs that watch us age,
as recipes we still follow imperfectly,
as habits we never learned to question
because love taught them first.
And then there is chosen family,
the miracle of strangers who stayed.
Friends who became witnesses to our becoming,
who learned our fractures
and placed their faith there anyway.
Who showed us that blood may start a story,
but love is what keeps writing it.
Family is the pet curled at our feet,
guarding us from loneliness
with nothing but breath and trust.
A wordless devotion that says:
I am here. I will be here.
Perhaps the purest promise of all.
Family is not perfection.
It is disagreement that doesn’t leave.
It is forgiveness practiced daily,
sometimes clumsily,
sometimes late,
but offered still.
At its core, family is recognition,
the relief of being seen
without performance,
the grace of belonging
without earning.
Tonight, as lights tremble on windows
and the year exhales its weight,
family becomes less about who sits beside us
and more about who lives within us.
Those we love never truly leave.
They change addresses,
from rooms to ribs,
from voices to values,
from presence to prayer.
On this Christmas Eve,
family is not just who we have,
it is who we carry.
An ABC Poem: Family at Christmastime
A is for arrival, coats piled by the door
B is for baking and crumbs on the floor
C is for carols sung loud and off-key
D is for decorations on the tree
E is for eggnog and laughter that flows
F is for family, the warmth that we know
G is for gifts wrapped in paper and bows
H is for home, wherever love grows
I is for inside from cold winter air
J is for jokes that we’ve all heard—but share
K is for kindness passed year after year
L is for lights shining bright with good cheer
M is for memories, old and brand new
N is for nights spent with all of you
O is for ornaments, handmade and worn
P is for pajamas on Christmas morn
Q is for quiet before the day starts
R is for reunions and full, grateful hearts
S is for stories retold once again
T is for together, the best gift of then
U is for understanding, forgiving, sincere
V is for visits we treasure each year
W is for wishes made softly at night
X is for Xmas, wrapped in love and light
Y is for yesterdays we fondly recall
Z is for zest—family, Christmas, and all
Tradition is held dear in the family. Each year, presents of baubles are found underneath the tree.
Dogs are Family
With this post I wanted to remind everyone that dogs are family, and we should not forget that during the holidays, you should give them extra cuddles and some presents and let them participate in the festivities if possible.
First, I wanted to say a few words about the latest addition to our family, our first grandson Jack. Our oldest son Jacob and his wife Ashley live in Baltimore, Maryland, and their son Jack is three months old. We’ve visited him a few times since his birth and these pictures are from our latest visit about a week ago. Jack is a healthy and happy baby who does a lot of cooing.
For some very cute pics of Jack and for the rest of the post, click here.
Family
what does it really take to be a family?
is it a mother? a father? a sister? a brother?
is the bond of DNA enough to define us?
or is it just a scientific link, a mere molecule that tells us how to grow, how to live?
but what happens when, beyond that DNA, nothing else binds us?
what if that molecule, so important for our development, contains only instructions—no love, no connection, no true belonging?
we need more than just DNA to be a family.
we need someone to love us unconditionally, even when we’re not at our best.
we need someone who values us, even when life gets tough.
to belong, to be one—that is family.
not just a bond of blood, but a promise for life. our forever.
On Sunday, December 7, our entire family attended The Wizard of Oz, a stage production by the Northwest Children’s Theater & School. The acting and singing were impressive, and even five-year-old Nora stayed completely engaged from beginning to end. For the past three years, we’ve taken the girls to see The Nutcracker, but since they were performing in it this year, we changed things up and followed the yellow brick road instead.
For some gorgeous pics and the rest of the post, click here.
Rall:
They say
blood is thicker
than water
but then
just sayin
so is chicken soup
Reflections on Family After Christmas
This Christmas, my family gathered at my house in the same manner as they did last year. For two years, sister #3 has not been with us for Christmas as she has chosen to spend the holiday week in Durban with her partner’s family. Sister #2 came to Johannesburg from Cape Town because I wanted her to be here for Mom and Dad. She wasn’t going to come this year but I insisted and purchase airplane tickets for her family. Mom is quite a bit frailer and I wanted her to have the best Christmas possible. Sister #4 spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with us as she usually does. We don’t see her during the rest of the year. My aunt, Mom’s only sister living in South Africa, didn’t come to me for Christmas. She is still angry that she’s living in the retirement home and refused to celebrate Christmas at all. Despite the absent people, it was a lovely day. Mom was very happy and even Dad made it until 4.30pm before disappearing to their separate cottage.
After Boxing Day had passed, another celebration, but smaller, I realised that this might be the last time my family gathers like this. Mom is the one who brings everyone together. My sisters and I have little in common now and I rarely see them except for Mom’s birthday and Christmas. It was rather a sad thought. I’m not sure exactly when my family grew apart, perhaps it was during Covid, or maybe its because we have chosen different paths. I’ve never been one for bright lights and a YUPPIE lifestyle. I can’t bear pretentiousness and like to spend my spare time writing, creating, or in the garden or the bush.
I realised a few other things over the Christmas week. One of them is that I cannot shift my responsibilities onto other family members. I had thought I might get a bit of a break from looking after everyone this past week. However, sister #2 took Mom out for the morning and returned her home exhausted and unfed. It was not an intentional lapse of care, it was purely a lack of understanding. Mom can only managed short trips out now and must be fed and given a drink after about 1 hour before bringing her back home. I revived her with invalid food, beef tea and toast, and then she rested for the rest of the day. I knew then that I could not pass her care to anyone else and must accompany her on any trips out to look after her.
The other revelation I had is that people don’t change and you shouldn’t expect them to. Other people have the right to chose their own paths and make their own decisions even if I don’t agree with them. If my sisters chose not to visit my parents regularly, that is okay. It is not for me to judge them. The only reason I have felt upset about it is because I know it hurts Mom even if she doesn’t say anything. I am a firm believer in making the most of being with people while they are still alive. It is to late after they have passed and I don’t want to have any regrets.
I believe I have found a lot more peace this year at work and at home because I have finally achieved a state of acceptance of what I cannot change. It is a good place to be.
my own family
is the centre of my life
and that is enough
From Grief to Growth
Epilogue
As my nephew and niece-in-law have been blessed with a baby girl on the 12th of this month my sister is with them at present.
December is the month in which, apart from all the festive occasions, most birthdays in our family fall.
23.12.2025
My birthday and also sadly the day my mother left for heavenly abode. To spend the day without family, to say the least, was taxing!!
I wanted to do something different and meaningful.
As pre-planned, I took a two hour journey by cab for a three day visit to my school buddy.
***
My friend’s place is big and beautiful.
She is a renowned danseuse and teaches kathak to girls of various age groups.
After lunch and a short rest, we attended a powerful and effective session of meditation accompanied by a series of positive affirmations in the evening.
We returned healed and at peace.
24.12.2025
An enriched evening of an hour long dance recital choreographed by the students.
The programme, attended by the parents and senior/former students, ended with the participants and their seniors talking about their journey of learning Kathak and various other life lessons and skills.
25.12.2025
We undertook an hour and a half long drive by cab to an Ashram which shelters girls belonging to the economically weaker section of society. Some of them are orphans too.
Spread over six acres and supported by many families, the Ashram is run by a well known spiritual cum philanthropic organization.
We had a long interaction with Sadhu Maa – the administrative head.
The Ashram facilitates the girls to get educated and employed.
Before leaving we handed over packed boxes of assorted snacks and a few other items which were required for the inmates.
The atmosphere of the Ashram was peaceful but we felt a bit depressed.
However, it was also very satisfying that we could do some good deed on the auspicious occasion of Christmas.
Prologue
Family is like a vast umbrella covering under its shade immediate blood relations, friends and also other like minded people with whom we share a bond of mutuality.
At my friend’s, I interacted with some very lovely people and of course dear old Dhatin , my buddy’s gentle and peace loving Golden Retriever.
The stay, though brief, the calming company of my friend, our joint efforts at healing and our humble endeavour to give back to society helped my personal grief to be channelized into a spirit of upliftment and growth.
L.I.S.A.
When Raj rapped on the door, it drifted open on its own. “Professor Iversen?” The boys queried in unison, their voices doing that involuntary octave‑jump that happens when fear and curiosity collide.
Rico swallowed. “Professor?”
No answer.
And then they saw him.
Slumped peacefully in his armchair, a notebook open on his lap. He looked less like a man who had died and more like one who had paused mid‑sentence and forgotten to resume.
They both stood there, frozen, two boys who had never seen death outside of movies and video games.
“We should call someone..” Rico whispered. “Do you think he had any family?”
Raj’s gaze had already drifted past the armchair and into the hallway, where the door to the professor’s lab was standing wide open. “Yeah, we will, but wait a minute-” Raj started toward the open door.
“We’re not allowed in there!” Rico protested.
“Weren’t.” Corrected Raj, “We weren’t allowed in there.”
Raj edged down the hallway, Rico followed, torn between guilt, and the gravitational pull of forbidden science.
The lab door yawned open invitingly.
Inside, the room was freezing- way colder than the rest of the house. The professor’s impressive computer set up was humming faintly on standby.
And then they saw her.
She lay on what looked like an old army cot, limbs arranged neatly, eyes closed as if in sleep. Not a toy-store mannequin- something far more intricate. Silicone skin, articulated joints, and well, let’s just say more raw female physicality than either of the boys had ever seen in real life.
Raj let out a low whistle. “I did not think the professor had it in him.”
Rico elbowed him. “Dude. Respect the dead.”
“I am respecting him,” Raj said. “I’m respecting the heck out of the old guy right now!”
Rico pointed to the screen on the adjacent desk. “Check this out.”
L.I.S.A. v3.2 – Load Interactive Synthetic Assistant
Rico’s breath caught. “No way.”
Raj grinned, eyes bright. “Way. This is giving fully functional animated companion vibes right now!”
They stared at the prompt.
The prompt stared back.
Rico whispered, “We should call someone.”
“We will,” Raj said. “We will. But think about it. We’ll never get another chance to see something like this in action. It’s only one night- one test run. Then we shut everything down and make the call.”
Rico hesitated. His conscience and his curiosity wrestled for a moment. Curiosity won by a landslide.
“Okay,” he said still unsure.
Raj cracked his knuckles like a hacker in a movie. “Ready?”
Rico nodded. “Do it.”
Raj clicked LOAD.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then her eyes flickered.
The computer fans roared.
A low hum vibrated through the floorboards.
Raj frowned. “She’s drawing a lot of power.”
“Maybe that’s normal,” Rico said, though his voice wobbled.
The overhead lights dimmed.
Then dimmed again.
Then- went out.
The entire house plunged into darkness.
“Uh‑oh,” Rico stammered.
Raj fumbled for his phone flashlight. “We should… we should shut everything down. Now.”
They closed the L.I.S.A. program. Shut down the computer. Closed the lab door. Locked it. Checked it again for good measure.
Only then did they step back into the living room, pale and shaken.
Rico finally pulled out his phone. “Okay. Calling.”
When the dispatcher answered, Rico explained- awkwardly- that they’d found Professor Iversen, that he wasn’t breathing, that they needed help.
The dispatcher’s voice was calm, professional. “We’ll send someone out as soon as we have a car available. Our systems are showing the entire city grid went down about five minutes ago, so it might take a little longer than usual.”
Keepsakes
I save my memories
Like keepsakes
Folded scraps of reminders
Of the journey I have made
There’s the stick figure drawing
She made so long ago
And the crayon printed autograph
Printed bright and bold
There’s my expired passport
With stamps from my first adventure
And hidden at the bottom
Folded faded and forgotten
That poem that was written so many years ago
That told of a love so innocent
But never meant to last
I save these savored memories
These remnants of the past.
***
Image credit: Pinterest
Esther Chilton 
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