Happy Five Minute Friday time. Of course, it’s Saturday. I know that.

Seriously, it’s time to jot down some thoughts on this week’s prompt — ABANDON — courtesy of Kate Motaugn (http://katemotaung.com/2017/03/09/five-minute-friday-abandon/) and the krazy krew of FMF followers. We get the prompt, we ponder, we write, we share … and our ranks swell!

If you’ve followed this blog at all, you know how much value FMF has for me. I’ve asked you to join in [you really, really should]. It’s quick. It’s easy {okay, sometimes not always}. It’s challenging. And it’s oh so rewarding. But don’t take my word for it. Here is what Tammy has to say, taken from snippets in Five Minute Friday: A Collection of Stories Written in Five Minutes Flat. Don’t listen to me. Listen to her.

“As a writer, FMF points me in a direction. There are so many things I’d like to write that I find myself paralyzed and writing nothing. It is also beautiful t see the different perspective on the same word.”

The timer is set so let’s share my perspective this week. GO…

Abandon. That’s not a typical word in my vocabulary. I know people have been scarred by abandonment. I’ve seen abandoned buildings and cars and whatevers. But it isn’t something I can reach back and say I’ve experienced.

No one has ever abandoned me. I had a loving supportive family that reached out well beyond the four walls I shared with Mom and Dad {I was an only child}. I had 40 years of marriage. We may have had our disagreements during that span, but when things got tough we always came together, not abandon each other.

So it’s a foreign concept to me. Even in the darkest days after my wife died, I was lost and unsettled, but I never felt abandoned. I knew all things worked for a purpose and God had a different assignment for Karen … and for me.

Even when it comes time to abandoning projects or personal property, I never quite experienced it. …STOP

… In fact, if anything, I tend to go to the opposite extreme. I rarely, if ever, throw things out (abandon). There are things floating around the house that date back to the 60s. Yeah. Really. There probably would be more but we moved nine times to five different states and Karen didn’t quite share my frugality.

There is one area where I do exhibit abandonment, though. I was reminded about it the other day when someone said to me, “You approach life with reckless abandon.” {Was that a prelude to the prompt?}

Looking back, I do. Life is a gift, but it’s not one to be put on a shelf. It is to be used and enjoyed and shared. Thank you God!

THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: “How do you chase darkness out of a room?’’ Jung asked rhetorically, “With a broom?” Then he answered, “No, you turn on the light.’’