During July 2026 I participated in a Summer of Writing Adventure by Bridget Cook-Burch. She gave us a prompt a day for 11 days. Following is a collection of my writing responses to each day's writing mission.
DAY 1: The Lemonade Stand for Adults
Mission: Open a stand and tell us what you're offering. Perhaps you're selling courage, or patience, or the ability to stop overthinking at 2:00 a.m. Maybe you've cornered the market on confidence, uninterrupted naps, or remembering why you walked into a room. Now, tell us who shows up to buy from you. (Level up: Describe your most difficult customer. It's funny how quickly a simple idea becomes a story once another human being walks into it.) Word Limit: 150 words
I’m selling tree connections. Whether you are looking for laughter, inspiration, or simply a moment of peace, there is a tree that can help. Hug a white pine as it whispers reminders to you that you are home on Earth – the biggest family tree. Sit beneath a honey locust to receive grace and strength from your ancestors. Look up through filtered sunlight into a black cherry to feel sheltered and safe. A star magnolia encourages you to reach for the stars and do great things. Crabapples help clear your mind chatter. Yellow magnolias send their vibrations of peace and love, giving you hope and joy. A mulberry reminds you to play like a child and enjoy the abundance of life. The trees know what you need, and I’ll help you connect with the one you most need today.
A grumpy old man limped up to criticize me, stating that I’m an imposter since trees have no soul. I smile at him and thank him for his opinion, then hand him a willow branch. He reluctantly takes it, planning to throw it on the ground as he walks away. Suddenly, he begins to laugh. Tears roll down his face as precious memories of playing under a willow as a child fill him with joy. Over the years, loneliness had turned him into a curmudgeon, and he had forgotten fun times from his past. This was a favorite childhood pastime, and he laughed like he did so many years ago. He turned to pay me for his twig, but I told him there was no charge. My payment was his laughter, and I hope it continues through the rest of his days.
DAY 2: The Fortune Cookie Factory Malfunction
Mission: Write five fortune cookie fortunes that should never have been approved. Level Up (Optional): Choose one fortune and tell us what happened after someone received it. A single sentence can launch an entire story. Word Limit: 50 words total
- You live in a three-circus zoo.
- Fly high and come down hard.
- Bad vibes will worsen our day.
- You’ll meet your ex today.
- A terrible adventure awaits you.
A woman’s fortune cookie reads “A terrible adventure awaits you.” She wonders if she should cancel her upcoming vacation? Confused, she leaves later than planned. On the way home, she encounters an accident and realizes it should have been her had she left earlier. Bad advice spared her life.
DAY 3: The World's Most Biased Tour Guide
Your Mission (if you choose to accept it): Give us a tour of a place you know well. Show us the highlights. Point out the hidden gems. Warn us about the one thing every visitor should avoid if they value their dignity. Most importantly, tell us something only a local would know. Level Up (Optional): While describing the place, accidentally reveal something you secretly love about it. The best descriptions rarely tell us only about the place. They tell us about the person doing the describing. Word Limit: 150 words
It’s just a backwater lake along the Illinois River, but Anderson Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area is our summer refuge. Camping is primitive, though there are water spigots and pit toilets. The muddy lake is shallow and full of fish for those willing to navigate boats and kayaks along the stumpy edges and lost duck blinds. Locals know to follow the dike road between Anderson and Carlson Lakes to the river and turn left to find a swimming beach. Look up and you’ll likely see a bald eagle soaring over the Illinois River following a barge that churns up jumping carp. Those who venture back there must stay on the road or risk an itchy rash from the ample poison ivy that grows under lowland trees lining the shores. After kayaking or fishing, enjoy a wiener roast by a roaring evening campfire. You’ll find lasting memories at Anderson Lake.
Level Up: I enjoy walking alone there while I identify plants and connect with nature. One day I went for a long walk back to the river where I sat under a tree in the shade to observe and listen. Many birds spoke to me: a mad catbird, a small warbler, a crow, and many woodpeckers. The muddy river was flowing slowly by and sent its peace and energy to me. Walking back to camp along the dike road I found a partially fallen tree, perfect for climbing and sitting upon. I sat high in the tree in the woods and felt like I was with the fairies – happy and free. Three vehicles went by and didn’t see me up there, even though I was by the road. My day with the fairies was a magical memory.
DAY 4: The Classified Advertisement
Your Mission: Write a classified advertisement for something unusual. It could be a job, a service, a pet, a magical item, or an opportunity nobody in their right mind should accept. Level Up (Optional): Include one oddly specific requirement that makes perfect sense only to the advertiser. Sometimes the smallest details tell us the most about a person. Word Limit: 100 words
Wanted...Magical Thread. Crochet thread infused with magical properties that invoke exceptional creativity to the crafter while making the piece. The thread must also magically knows what the piece’s recipient needs. Examples include a sense of contentment from a loss while cuddling under a soft afghan or renewed energy to live big each time they walk past a colorful doily. Level Up: Preference given to thread with hair invisibly and sporadically woven within the skein.
DAY 5: The Museum of Questionable Treasures
Your Mission: Create a museum exhibit featuring five oddly meaningful objects from your life. Tell us what belongs in the collection and why. Word Limit: 150 words. Level Up (Optional): Choose one object and write its museum plaque as though it were one of the most important artifacts in human history.
A windowsill of memories stands proud above an aging woman’s desk, spanning her life from 6 to 63. Oldest is a cloudy, scratched paperweight containing a dried-up salamander. Her newest treasure is a blue-footed boobie figurine from the Galapagos Islands where she completed a month-long yoga teacher training. A crystal tree of life reminds her of fabulous family trips to Ecuador. Fond remembrances of California vacations are in a tiny planter displaying her name and a string-of-pearls plant. She smiles and sees her mom and sister laughing as they paint rocks from her sisters Kansas ranch. Each piece invokes emotions meant only for her. Yet, her soul lives in each and she hopes whoever sorts her treasures after she’s gone will feel the emotions too.
Level Up: A cloudy, scratched paperweight containing a dried-up salamander is an ugly artifact representing family fun of days gone by. The salamander started its life in a mucky creek in Illinois where a young girl often hiked with her dad. She loved splashing through the clear water; drinking from the stream; and turning over rocks to reveal nature’s mysteries. One day they found two salamanders and dad let her and her sister take them home as pets. They watched and fed them until one came up missing. Many weeks later her mom found it curled up within a frog ornament. Mom used their paperweight craft kit to convert it into a resin paperweight. The paperweight traveled with the girl to college, her first home, and stayed with her all her days. We display it here as a reminder to spend time with your family in nature.
DAY 6: The World's Smallest Adventure
Your Mission: Write about a small adventure you've actually experienced. Now make it sound as epic as humanly possible. Level Up: Include one completely unnecessary obstacle that nearly ruined everything. Word Limit: 150 words
The sign read “Botany Trail.” We drove past it on our journey between the Redwood and Crater Lake National Parks. As a horticulturist I had to turn back. What I experienced was horticultural heaven. It was a short trail with fading signs, and it didn’t take long to realize that I was on a path to one of the greatest botanical finds of my lifetime. Finally, I came to an observation point and clearly saw the massive display of California pitcher plants (Darlingtonia californica). I stood there, anchored to the spot...mesmerized...speechless. Yes, I’ve seen pitcher plants many times in botanical gardens, but this was different. These plants were in their ancestral home, free to live and breathe as they had since time immemorial. I breathed in their released oxygen. Those molecules live inside me today, connecting me through time to a magical, mystical place.
Level Up: And, to think that I almost missed it. Our drive took us along the National Wild and Scenic Smith River where we stopped many times. Earlier, we passed a sign for the Middle Fork Gorge River access, and my husband Mark had to turn around and go back. As we turned in, it was obviously a very rocky, muddy, probably nonnavigational road. Mark thought I didn’t want to risk it, but I just didn’t want to walk the entire road. We had a 4-wheel drive truck, so I said, “Go for it!” I’m sure glad that the Tacoma made it down that rough road. We walked to the rocky shoreline, sat on big boulders, and were awestruck by the clear, clean, crystal green-blue river. The Redwoods and Glacier Lake were amazing, but these small, unplanned excursions made our trip extra special.
DAY 7: The Firefly Smuggler
Your Mission: Catch three fireflies. Inside each one is a memory, dream, wish, secret, or story. Tell us what glows inside. Level Up: One of the fireflies contains something that doesn't belong to you. Word Limit: 150 words
Fireflies are abundant in my yard on summer nights. Tonight, as I easily catch one it shares its magical powers with me, transporting me back to my childhood when I dreamed of dancing in a field full of flowers. I twirl and spin in my flowing skirt among the colorful, wispy flowers. Free, easy, and oh so happy.
Too soon it is over. So, I catch another one, but this time I’m transported to a future dream of motorcycling with my husband in the Alps of Switzerland. As we navigate switchbacks up the mountains, I’m in heaven among the alpine flowers, evergreens, and snowcapped mountains.
Sooner yet, I’m back, so I catch a third one. This time I stay put, yet a sense of overwhelming calm and contentment washes over me. Immediately I know that this is my sanctuary, my happy place. The firefly reminds me that I will travel many places in my lifetime, yet I will always return to my comforting home to reset and renew before venturing off again.
Level Up: Suddenly and without warning I’m driving a racecar around the Indianapolis 500 track. I’m confused. I don’t want to be a racecar driver, never have, never will. Yet, for a few seconds I’m behind the wheel, skillfully maneuvering between cars to take the lead. I feel the adrenaline and better understand why they do it. As I reenter my back yard and open my hand to see the firefly, I swear it winked at me as if saying, “Never say never.”
DAY 8: The Curious Map
Your Mission: Create a written map of your current season of life. Include at least five locations. Level Up: Include a warning label somewhere on the map. A good map doesn't tell us where to go. It helps us understand where we are. Word Limit: 150 words
At 63 Rhonda is on the best journey of her life. She lives full time in Retirement’ville where every day is Saturday and there are no schedules. While there, she splits time between Home Paradise and Anywhere USA. Home Paradise is in rural central Illinois where her 12 acres provide many zen spaces to unwind. When not there, Rhonda and her husband visit Anywhere USA in their camper van, on a motorcycle, or traveling via pickup truck or airline. A popular destination is Family’opolis to see their sons. Her biggest personal joy comes in Yoga Central, although the recently discovered Crooked Town forces her to adapt spinal moves to accommodate scoliosis and degenerative discs. Between it all, she loves visiting Craftland where she crochets and quilts.
Level Up: Warning, Rhonda’s life may look simple at her age, but she often visits unexpected places to push her boundaries and face her fears. She’s climbed rocks in Joshua Tree National Park and a strangler fig tree in Costa Rica. She discovered Crooked Town during a month-long yoga teacher training in the Galapagos. Still, she adapts and recently backpacked 40 miles across Catalina Island over 5 days.
DAY 9: The Bench That Knows Everything
Your Mission: Write from the perspective of a park bench. Yup, you… that park bench. Tell us what you've witnessed over the years. Level Up: Describe one conversation the bench never forgot. The world is full of stories waiting patiently for someone to notice them. Word Limit: 150 words
I’m a broken, rusty glider who’s lived 36 years with the same family. The young couple and I began in their first home as they were about to have a son. We often sat on the back patio watching the young boy swing in the yard. At our second home I enjoyed a prime front view where I proudly watched their now two young boys learn to ride bicycles around the driveway. At our third home I was put in the woods overlooking the boys play area where we watched them dig in the sandbox. But that was many years ago. Oh, occasionally the woman comes to write in her journal, but it is rare. Wait a minute, an old dinosaur and an army man are emerging from the sand, reminding me of fun times when the kids played by me. I miss those days.
DAY 10: The Summer Mischief Report
Your Mission: Write an official incident report describing an extremely unofficial event. The more ridiculous the event, the more serious your report should sound. Level Up: Remain completely professional throughout. The more serious the better. Some stories become funnier when nobody in them seems to notice. Word Limit: 150 words
A woman reports a jewel theft from an Asian carp. She was kayaking about 2 pm on the Illinois River near Havana, Illinois when an Asian carp jumped clear over her head. The entire incident was witnessed by her friend Cindy who was kayaking beside her. They say that the fish came out of the water on the victims left side, soared an inch over her head, and landed on her right side. She didn’t feel it hit her but immediately noticed she was wet and dirty. After they returned to shore and she removed her gear, she noticed the dragonfly brooch pinned to her Tilley hat was missing. The fish apparently stole the dragonfly while jumping over her. They caught a fish on camera the day before while practicing for the Redneck Tournament and believe the fish was getting revenge for its family that were captured during the tournament.
