Caitlin McColl
Stories (136/0)
Don't Be Like Me And Just Be
2022. Another year has gone by. It seems, in the blink of an eye. This isn’t supposed to be a poem, yet it’s started out rhyming. I’m finding that probably more amusing than I should because I’m tired. This first week back to work so far after have time off between Christmas and New Years has been brutal (and it’s only day 2!). I normally end up working in between Christmas and New Year – not only because usually by the end of the year I’ve taken up all my vacation time, but also because it’s quiet anyway and my husband also normally works during that time too (outside the house that is), so, why not.
By Caitlin McColl3 months ago in Journal
The Nightstalker
Annie’s eyes shot open, and she stared at her bedroom ceiling in the pitch dark of night, the image of a barn owl tattoo still floating in front of her eyes as if it were seared in her brain. She blinked rapidly a few times and the image slowly faded. Like when you accidentally stare straight at the sun and have the brightness etched in your vision until it finally disappears, she thought muzzily, pushing herself up into a seat. She wouldn’t be able to sleep now, not after dreaming about the barn owl tattoo again, for the third night in a row. It obviously meant something. She glanced at the clock next to the bed, 5:18 am, and sighed and threw off her covers, and got up padding towards the kitchen and the coffee maker.
By Caitlin McCollabout a year ago in Fiction
Betty White Has Died
On the eve of the old year and the cusp of a new, the unimaginable has happened. Betty White has passed away — only 18 days from her 100th birthday, which just recently she'd been looking forward to celebrating. 100 years. Imagine that. I know there have been a fair few who have reached that age and beyond, but not many. And Betty was one of the special ones. She was a beacon of....everything being right with the world. Or at least if not right, then okay. Everything was okay because we still had Betty. We may have lost so much the last few years, especially the last two. But hey, Betty was still alive and kicking so, we had that to lean on in our collective times of struggle and despair. Betty had made it through.
By Caitlin McCollabout a year ago in Journal
We Rescued Her
This is going to be difficult for me to write, with probably some tears shed along the way. Why? Because I just said goodbye to my furbaby rescue daughter four days ago ( as of writing) on December 15th, 2021. The house feels too empty and the grief is too . But, sharing this memory will help, and I hope will be cathartic. That or traumatizing, which I know it is for my husband.),
By Caitlin McCollabout a year ago in Petlife
Say No to Go Go Go
We all know that today’s society glamorizes and pushes the so-called benefits of the ‘side hustle’, as it’s called now, and how we should all be doing a million different things, because why not? After all, we can do a zillion things thanks to technology these days. But just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
By Caitlin McCollabout a year ago in Lifehack
We'll Miss You Forever
How do you survive grief? You survive by keeping going. By going with the flow of it. You can’t “get over” grief and loss, or even really move away from it. It’ll always be there, but just change from day to day or week to week, month to month or even year to year. You can be with it, you can cope and deal with it, you can live with it.
By Caitlin McCollabout a year ago in Petlife
The Diamond Within
Do you know what brings out the real you? Uncovers the shining diamond that is within? There's one thing that strips away everything and lays us bare and vulnerable. It's something that every one of us goes through eventually: death. And not just death but grief and loss and all that entails. That's what reveals the remarkably real you.
By Caitlin McCollabout a year ago in Petlife
Q: Wanna give a writer feedback?
We writers are like delicate flowers or fragile snowflakes. We don’t take criticism well. Or at least, personally speaking, I don’t. Even if it’s given kindly, it feels like a knife to the heart. Especially if the person starts with something like, I really loved your story but…”
By Caitlin McCollabout a year ago in Journal
