Erika Wood
Bio
I am a student of life just wandering my way thru the maze and enjoying every turn. Visit my sight as I write about the state I live in and other random thoughts that come my way.
Stories (26)
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Bright Shiny Expectations with a Little Existential Crisis Thrown In
The holidays are full of happy, bright, festive parties, people, ideas, and food. We run from each other's houses performing the yearly ritual of celebrating starting with Halloween going to New Year. The rush of gift buying, gift-giving, food preparing, and food eating is a yearly event that some cherish, and others want to hide from.
By Erika Wood4 years ago in Families
The Barnyard Chronicles: The Infamous Bonnie and Clyde
The feed stores bring in baby ducks, chickens, turkeys, geese, guineas, and bunnies in the spring. And every year the farmer will bring babies home. One year the farmer's son brought two little yellow ducklings home.
By Erika Wood4 years ago in Fiction
How My Broken Washing Machine Reminded Me of Planned Obsolescence
Planned Obsolescence (noun) a policy of producing consumer goods that rapidly become obsolete and so require replacing, achieved by frequent changes in design, termination of the supply of spare parts, and the use of non-durable materials.
By Erika Wood4 years ago in Journal
Is it love?
Love is a powerful emotion it can be sweet, gentle, kind, and a force to move mountains. It can be destructive, cruel, hateful, or a reason to lie down and die. An emotion that can do so much can freeze a nation in terror, explode a population, or cause a grown man to fall to tears.
By Erika Wood4 years ago in Humans
A Message to my son
On your 20st birthday you came out to our family. You thought we would hate you, you thought we would kick you out, you thought you knew us. We didn't know how to deal with the anger you flung at us for months after. We loved you but we also hated you. We hated the anger that came off you in waves, we hated the stranger that lived in our house, we hated the loss of the person we knew. But we loved you.
By Erika Wood4 years ago in Pride
Storm Clouds of Anxiety and How I Learned Self-Care Can go a Long Way
About ten years ago I started down the path of anxiety. It came at me in a rush I had not a clue as to what was wrong with me. Everything scared me and put me in a panic. I would sit in crowds and sweat from the panic of wanting to run. I would get this warm shooting feeling down my spine. I couldn't catch my breath and I'd wake at night in a panic. I felt like my world was crashing into a fiery mess and there wasn't anything I could do about it.
By Erika Wood4 years ago in Psyche
The Barnyard Chronicles: Crazy Ladies Hester and Maude
What can we say about Hester and Maude...Well, Hopper seems to think they are a little off their perches and a lot of something he can't quite put his beak on. But they keep to themselves and wander around the barnyard minding their own businesses all day.
By Erika Wood4 years ago in Fiction
The Barnyard Chronicles: Hopper the Goose
The sun peeks over the treetops near the farmyard slowly waking everyone up. Hopper ruffles his grey and white feathers, sprinkling tiny water droplets to the ground. Quickly, he runs from his sleeping spot near the barn as the dogs, Caesar and Cleo, run by playing in the cool morning air. Sara and Val, the goats, stand in the barn door stretching and yawning looking towards the farmer's hours. The chickens, one by one fly out of the chicken house and immediately start pecking the ground for goodies. One rooster lazily crows in the house, and the other stands in the yard and proudly fills his black feathered chest with air and lets out a loud crow welcoming another day.
By Erika Wood4 years ago in Fiction
Prairie Grass and Ocean Waves
In January 1996, we moved from our home on the Mississippi gulf coast to the frigid high plains of Montana. As we pulled into our new home all I could think of was how cold I was. I was born and raised in Florida where walking on the beach was a year-round event. My husband growing up in Illinois knew what cold was and having been all over the world with the Navy knew what to do. He told me to wear layers, and I had not a clue what he meant. A layer in Florida is a velvety chocolate cake, or a t-shirt over your bathing suit, but in Montana it is life or death.
By Erika Wood4 years ago in Earth
Some of the things I've learned in my Forties...
As a forty something...OK 48 and yes, it is definitely closer to 50 than forty but it all feels the same. Yes, things hurt a little more and take longer to heal than they did 20 years ago, but this age is so much mellower than it was 20 years ago.
By Erika Wood4 years ago in Motivation
