tick tick tick

tick tick tick tick

I receive daily writing prompts in my inbox.  I go through streaks of using them, when they intrigue me and dry spells when the ideas bore me.

A recent one that pricked my writing reverie was “write a list of things that tick;” quite different from things that tick me off.  Honestly, there are days that list would be a catalog.  No, this one was simply things that tick. 

I interpreted that as a sound - a clicking or rhythmic beat; and even took it a step further with a check mark indicating something is done.  I avoided the pesky blood-sucking insect that latches itself to you while hiking in the summer.

A few of the words and phrases that I wrote on my list

pocket watch     alarm clock    time bomb    my eye when I’m stressed    creepy working to clean the pool    a metronome    high heels on a concrete floor    Dorothy’s ruby slippers   crosswalk signs    a card placed in bicycle spokes

All of items and actions denote a beat, a measure of time or an accomplishment.  How many ticks and checks do I need before I’m ticked off or calmed down?  Face it, some ticks drone on; annoying, while others are lovely repetitive reminders. 

Ticks create a cadence to our lives.  Just think about a quickly tapped pencil.  Sounds like impatience or frustration.  In contrast, the slow precision of a clock ticking sets a peaceful tone in the quiet of the night.

I have ticks that tick me off, occasionally ticks in my eye and fortunately no ticks on my body.  I see them all as a necessary part of my life tempo.  They keep me steady and set my pace.  When there’s a lot to do, my ticking is rapid.  (Can you hear my heels clickety clicking?)  Then comes those much anticipated moments when the pulse is slow, like a long weekend away at a cabin on a lake.  (That’s coming in a couple of weeks.)

If I had given you the prompt to write a list of ticks…what would you have written?

Missy

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