3 a.m.

 

"My favorite's the three o'clock hour. For most people, that's the hard time. If they don't sleep through it, that's the time the mind wakes up and starts worrying about what they did or didn't do that day, or what they'll do or not do the next. And the next, and right up until life's over."

Night Shield

___________________________

Ellin Beltz, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Now wide awake from a once peaceful slumber, you roll over to check the clock and find it’s 3 a.m. That’s the same time you woke up last night. And the night before.

 

If that sounds familiar, it’s because nocturnal awakenings happen to a lot of people. Waking up several times throughout the night is a natural occurrence often due to sleep architecture, which are the stages of sleep that one cycles through every night.

CNN

Awesome Backyard Home Offices

Now she pulled open the door of the utility shed. It was a big square building, as wide as the

average barn, with hardwood floors and paneled walls. Uncle Jolley hadn't believed in the primitive.

Hitting the switch, she flooded the building with light.

As per her instructions, the crates and boxes she'd shipped had been stacked along one wall. The shelves where Uncle Jolley had kept his gardening tools during his brief, torrid gardening stage had been packed away. The plumbing was good, with a full-size stainless-steel sink and a small but more than adequate bath with shower enclosed in the rear. She counted five workbenches. The light and ventilation were excellent.

It wouldn't take her long, Pandora figured, to turn the shed into an organized, productive

workroom.

It took three hours.

A Will and A Way

____________________

Photo by Garrison Foundry Architecture + Decor - Look for living room design inspiration

Tour the personalized studios and sheds Houzz pros designed and built for themselves

HOUZZ

____________________

Boyd gave a hoot of laughter and opened the door of the workshop. "What do you think?"

The garage-size room was full of tables, machines, shelves, tools, stacks of wood There appeared to be a number of projects in progress, but Jonah couldn't tell what they were, or what they were intended to be.

"Impressive," he decided, diplomatically. "What do you do here?"

"I make a great deal of noise. Other than that, I haven't figured it out. I helped Keenan build a

bird-house about ten years ago. Came out pretty good. Cilia started buying me tools. Boy toys, she calls them."

He ran his hand over the guard of a skill saw. "Then I needed a place to keep them. Before I knew it, I had a fully equipped workshop. I think it was all a ploy to get me out of her hair."

Night Shield

School That Turns Firefighters Into Fire Detectives

“Regardless, we’ll pursue every avenue of the investigation. We can speculate, too, Mr. Curry,” DiCicco added. “But we have to work with facts, with data, with evidence. Two people are dead, and that’s priority. But those wildfires matter. I work for the Forest Service, too. Believe me, it all matters.” 

Chasing Fire

________________

Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=455182

When a wildfire stops burning, an important job begins: Figuring out how it started, and who should be held responsible.

Popular Mechanics

________________

And while he performed these habitual acts, he scanned the scene. A man in his position needed to keep an open mind about fire. He would take an overview of the scene, the weather, note the wind direction, talk to the fire fighters. There would be all manner of routine and scientific tests to run.
But first, he would trust his eyes, and his nose.
The warehouse was most probably a loss, but it was no longer his job to save it. His job was to find the whys and the hows.
He exhaled smoke and studied the crowd.
He knew the night watchman had called in the alarm. The man would have to be interviewed. Ry looked over the faces, one by one.


Night Smoke

Life After Sexual Assault

"So I didn't say anything, because there was nothing to say and no one to say it to. He raped me twice more over the next month, before I got the nerve to run away again. Of course, they caught me. Maybe I'd wanted them to that time. I stayed in the home until I was eighteen. And when I got out, I knew no one was ever going to have that kind of control over me again. No one was ever going to make me feel like I was nothing ever again."

Unsure what to do, Colt reached up tentatively to brush a tear from her cheek. "You made your life into something, Althea."

"I made it into mine." She let out a breath, then briskly rubbed the tears from her cheeks. "I don't like to dwell on before, Colt."

"But it's there."

"It's there," she agreed. "Trying to make it go away only brings it closer to the surface. I learned that, too. Once you accept it's simply a part of what makes you what you are, it doesn't become as vital. It didn't make me hate men, it didn't make me hate myself. It did make me understand what it is to be a victim."

Nightshade 

_________________

By Jason clendenen - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=76284275

What It's Like to Reclaim Your Sex Life After Sexual Assault

That focus on a better future, many survivors say, is part of what helps them form bonds with potential partners with whom they can have healthy relationships—and repair their relationships with themselves. “There is hope,” says Lindsay. “The physical pain, the emotional pain—all that stuff is passing clouds. Joy is the sky. It’s always there.”

YAHOO!

_________________

He plunged his hand into her hair, got a good grip to jerk her face up to his. “Pay up,” he

demanded, then closed his mouth over hers.

There it was, she thought, outrageously grateful. There was the instant thrill, the response, 

the need. It had taken nothing from her. His body moved wet and hard 

against hers, his mouth took from hers, and there was nothing, nothing but pleasure.

“Touch me.” She demanded it, using her teeth, her nails. Nothing fragile here, 

nothing damaged or in need of tending. Touch me, she thought, take me. 

Make me feel utterly, utterly human.

The Pagan Stone

Cozy Nooks, Daybeds and Corners for Reading

"Lucky me. You've got a lot of books," she commented.

She studied his profile, the sexy, angular lines of it,

the way the dark glasses concealed the fascinating

contrast of those eyes of pure, light green.

"It's hard to picture you curling up with a good book."

"Stretching out," he said, correcting her. "Women curl up

with books, guys stretch out."

"Oh, I see. That's entirely different."

Night Shield

______________

Photo by Cynthia Lynn Photography - Look for family room pictures

These snug spots may make you want to put on fuzzy 

socks and hunker down with a good book

HOUZZ

An unlikely hero for an all-time great Team

"What do you want to be when you grow up, Lance?" 
She turned back to him, and the wind caught and pulled at her free curls. 
Her eyes were speared with laughter.

"Starting pitcher for the Red Sox."

The Heart's Victory

__________________________

By Shamblesuk at English Wikipedia - Own work, GFDL, 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22037361

Baseball has a way. So often it manages, among the likes of J.D. Martinez and Mookie Betts, to hone in for a few days on the most unlikely guy on the team and turn him into Babe Ruth.

Baseball has a way of saying, “Steve Pearce, come here. You’re going to win the World Series for your team.”

YAHOO!

__________________________

"Blackhawk, baseball is life."


Night Shield

Things Dads Are Hardly Told To Do For Their Daughters, But Should

"You know what I'm built on. You can't think I'm good enough for her."

"Of course you're not," Boyd said simply, and noticed those clear green eyes didn't so much as flicker.

"She's my little girl, Jonah. No one's good enough for her. But knowing what you're built on, I'd say you're pretty close. I wonder why that surprises you. The one area I don't recall you ever being low in is esteem."

"I'm over my head here," Jonah murmured. "It's been a long time since I've been over my head in

anything."

"Women do that to you. The right woman, you never really surface again. She's beautiful, isn't she?"

"Yes. She blinds me."

"She's also smart, and she's strong, and she knows how to deal with what's dished out."

Absently, Jonah rubbed his thumb over his sore lip. "No argument."

"Then my advice to you is to play it straight with her, too. She won't let you get away with less, not for long."

"She isn't looking for anything else from me."

"You keep thinking that, son." At ease again, Boyd crossed to Jonah, laid a hand on his shoulder.

"There's just one thing," he said as they started toward the door. "If you hurt her, I'll take you out. They'll never find your body."

"Well, I feel better now."

Night Shield

________________________

By Srichakra Pranav (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], 

via Wikimedia Commons

Inspired by writer Roxane Gay's response to a nervous father of a daughter, I've compiled a list of the things I believe all dads of daughters should know to make sure his influence is the best possible kind, from my personal experiences and through the many experiences of other daughters.

A PLUS

________________________

With a quick, throaty laugh, Natasha led the way into the bedroom.

"Don't mention looking sexy around your father. He isn't quite ready for it."

"But he's all right, isn't he? About the move?"

"He misses you, and sometimes he looks in your room as if he still expects to see you there--in pigtails. So do I," Natasha admitted, and sat on the edge of the bed. "But yes, he's all right with it. More than. He--both of us are so proud of you. Not just because of the music, but because of who you are."

No one was more surprised than Natasha when Freddie dropped on the bed beside her and burst into tears.

"Oh, my love, my baby, what is it?" Drawing Freddie close, Natasha stroked and soothed. "There, sweetheart, tell Mama."

"I'm sorry." Giving up, Freddie pressed her face into Natasha's soft, welcoming shoulder and wept. "I guess this has been building up all day--all week. All my life. Maybe I am spoiled and indulged."

Instantly insulted, Natasha leaned back to look at Freddie. "Spoiled? You're not spoiled, and not indulged! What would put such nonsense in your head?"

"Not what, who." Disgusted with herself, Freddie dug around in her pocket for a tissue. "Oh, Mama, I had such an awful fight with Nick today."

Of course, Natasha thought with a little inward sigh. She should have suspected it. "We often fight with those we care about, Freddie. You shouldn't take it so hard."

"It wasn't just a spat, not like we've had before. We said awful things to each other. He doesn't have any respect for who I am, or what I'm trying to do. As far as he's concerned, I'm just here to kick up my heels, knowing if I trip, you and Dad will be there to catch me."

"And so we would, if you needed us. That's what family is for. It doesn't mean you're not strong and self-reliant, just because you have someone who would reach out if you needed help."

"I know. I know that." But it helped enormously to hear it, all the same.

Waiting for Nick

Cheers to all Happy Begginings created by Nora Roberts

Their pinched faces, the bruises, the fear—and worse, the dull acceptance in their eyes—tormented her.


Sea Swept

____________

Growing up in a foster care system isn’t a walk in the park. It’s more like a walk down a pretty dark alley in the middle of a rainstorm. 

WIMP

____________

"When you're a child, you do nothing," she said flatly. "You're at the mercy of adults, and the reality is, a great many adults have no mercy."


Nightshade

On Valentine's - "See beneath your beautiful"

He walked over, sat beside her, took her hand. "I've never told anyone I loved them before," he began. 
"I never loved anyone. Not a woman, not family, not a friend." 
"Jack." Swamped with emotion, she brushed the hair from his brow. 
"You just never had a chance to." 

Captive Star 

 ___________________________

 ___________________________

What had she expected? she asked herself. 

No man would be comfortable around a woman after hearing a story like the one she'd told him. And why in God's name had she dumped out her past that way? 

How could she have trusted him with pieces of herself that she'd never given anyone before? 

Even Boyd, the person she considered her closest friend, knew only about the foster homes. As for the rest, she'd buried it-until last night. She didn't doubt that her tie to Liz had unlocked the door and let the nightmare back in. 

But she should have been able to handle it, to hold back, to safeguard her privacy.

The fact that she hadn't could mean only one thing.

Indulging in a sigh, Althea pushed herself up and rested her brow on her knees. She was in love with Colt. 

Ridiculous as it was, she had to face the truth. And, just as she'd always suspected, love made you stupid, vulnerable and unhappy. There ought to be a pill, she mused. A serum she could take. Like an antidote for snakebite. 

The sound of footsteps had her whipping her head up. 

Her eyes widened when Colt came to the doorway carrying a tray. 

He had a split second to read her reaction before she closed it off. She'd thought he'd taken a hike, he realized grimly. 

He was going to have to show the lady that he was sticking, no matter how hard she tried to shake him off. 

Nightshade

things Parents need to teach Sons about masculinity

It's okay to cry and show a full range of emotions

Girls aren't the worst thing 

There is no need to constantly prove your masculinity 

It's okay to suck at sports

You can talk about your feelings 

 

 

 Your sexual conquests don't define you

Violence is not the answer when conflicts arise

 

 

 

 

SHINE