Is that YOU, Nora Ephron?

Today, I shall write. 
There have been too many signs pointing me in that direction, lately, 
and I would be a FOOL to ignore them.
                                                   

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This morning, something woke me at a very early hour.

It sounded like some sort of animal on top of the roof, just above my bed.

A bird or a squirrel, maybe . . . hopping around.

But, then, it sounded like someone was repeatedly smacking the palm of her hand
     against the aluminum siding, just outside my window.

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It was not the woodpecker.

The woodpecker has woken me many times before 

     with that very fast banging sound against the downspout:

Da, da, da, da;  da, da, da, da;  da da, da, da, da.  

The woodpecker used to visit frequently when the kids were little, and, 

     like a mad woman (with no sleep), I  would leap out of my bed to try to scare him away 

before he woke them.     

And, yes, I did say HIM.  

After all, only a male creature would wake a sleeping mother.     

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 "Only teenagers to wake in this house!" I said to the noise.

Not that waking THEM is any less troublesome than waking a baby.     

The noise went away, and the house was quiet.

     But, I could not get back to sleep.

My mind started to wander, and suddenly, a story . . . maybe a possible screenplay . . .
      began to unravel in my mind.  


I reached over for my laptop.

Before I began to type, I checked my e-mail and my Facebook.   

I have to get that out of the way before I can let my creative juices flow,
     and sometimes, something said or seen on Facebook can inspire me.


That's when I was reminded of the news that I had heard, late last night -
              the very last thing that I remember, before I fell asleep:

Author and screenwriter Nora Ephron had died.  

I was very saddened by this news, as I have always admired her, 

     as a person, and for her work, 

and truly feel that she is irreplaceable.  

It makes me sad to realize there will be no more Nora Ephron movies.   

And then, a crazy thought came to my head.

Maybe that was Nora Ephron . . . banging on my house, 

              telling me to "get off my ass, and get back to writing"!

Okay . . . . . . that gave me goosebumps. 

Then, just as I began typing, my battery went out.  

The electrical cord was downstairs.

Is the Universe challenging me???

It was still early - before 6:30, and I could have easily given up, and tried to go back to sleep.

But, I went downstairs to get the cord, brought it back upstairs, and began to write.  

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A week ago, I saw the movie, "Love, Peace & Misunderstanding".  

There is a scene where Jane Fonda's character says to her inspiring poet granddaughter, 

     "You need a muse." 

And, in that moment, I said to myself, "I need a muse". 

A few days ago, I posted on Facebook about all of the weird dreams that I had been having.

"Friends" told me to write about them.   

While I felt the dreams were too creepy to write about, 

     the message "to write" rang loud and clear. 

My inner voice said, "It has been too long. Get back to what you love."

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Do I really believe that was Nora Ephron banging on my house?

Who knows?

A very cool thought, one must admit.

 

A friend of mine recently wrote on Facebook,

    "That's why you are a writer. Insight is the by product of lingering upon ideas".

(Thank you, Rick!)

So, whether it was Nora Ephron, my inner goddess, or something else . . . 

      the important thing is that, for whatever reason, I rose out of bed early this morning, 

and got back to something that I love to do - 

to write.  

Nora Ephron, you will be missed.