Melinda Morley

I know I shouldn’t take credit, but seriously, my husband is so talented, that when the kids do something good that I can even slightly attribute to myself, I do. In fact, I’m all over it.

Cowboy is the one who is athletic, the one with all the musical talent, the one who can fix anything, the list is endllllesssss.

And I, well, I can write. At least that’s what I tell myself. Even if it’s delusional, it’s a world that I’m willing to live in: the world where Melinda is a writer, even if she is mediocre at everything else.

So, today I logged some volunteer time at my kid’s school. I listened to my daughter give a swoony report about Mark Twain. (Am I the only one who feels swoony about him? Even though he died 100 years ago this year? I really want to meet him someday. Ever since my English teacher told me that I had a natural ability for public speaking and compared me to Mark Twain. I don’t even know what that means, if anything, but I’ve held on that scrap, I tell you. So, maybe I can write and speak and that’s part of my happy delusion, also.)

So, I stood in the hall waiting for my son and I happened to see a cute little display on the wall. There were flesh colored pieces of paper that the kids had wrinkled up and drawn self-portraits of what they would like if they were 100 years old. Then they wrote about it. Here is what my genius and humorous and witty and charming son said: (While I’m taking credit here, I may as well go all the way.)

“If I was 100″
by John Morley
If i was 100 I would have tons of wrinkles.
I would sit in a chair for years, I mean seriously.
I’d fall asleep in that chair.
I would love that chair.
I’d own a horse, cat, dog, and a cow.
I would die in that chair if i had to.
The end.

I did have to fix his spelling–at his request, even though I could probably have spelled wrinkles in first grade, he did pretty well for a first grader. He spelled “seriously” right. So, I’ll give him that much. He also excels in math and I can take NO credit for that. I, also, don’t take credit for the fact that he would like to own a cow. I have NO desire for livestock. He must get that from his grandpa.

But his writing, well, it’s rather genius.
If I do say so myself.