Plucking the day

It always amazes me with our writing group how varied each piece of work is, six of us and we all approach the topic in a totally different way. Today’s topic was ‘Seize the day’ – a rough translation of the phrase carpe diem. One of us mentioned that in fact a better translation would be to pluck the day, as in plucking fruit, and I think that is a rather nice image – taking what’s offered as opposed to grabbing what’s there. Whichever interpretation, the idea is to make use of opportunities that present themselves and the implication is not to waste those opportunities or chances. So what did my five friends choose to write about:

• a meditative poem with four verses reflecting on times in the past where maybe the path chosen was a safe option rather than an adventurous choice
• a very funny, and very clever story about a carpenter who was taken on by Noah – commissioned by Jeanne d’Arc, to help with the construction of Ark II – Ark I having been attacked by the woodworms which had been included as part of the consignment of all creatures great and small
• an amusing tale of a visit to a DIY store to by kitchen stools to go under the breakfast bar which had recently been built by a husband, a story which it seemed to us had two – if not three sections each with the characters seizing the day: buying the bargain stools, taking the stools back to the store, coming home with them as they could not be returned and then finding a way to dispose of them
• a story – almost a parable about an elderly couple who continually put off decisions and jobs, consigning them to a kitchen drawer (was it a real drawer or a virtual drawer) and  how eventually their procrastination caught up with them, a story with subtle wit, clever