6 December 2025, @mariannewest's Freewrite Writing Prompt Day 2943: losing control
Photo by the author, Deeann D. Mathews
“No, I don't worry so much about losing control – I keep getting the lesson that I don't have any control, only responsibilities, so why even waste the energy worrying? I have a whole shipment of soda that ended up on a ship that got stolen with a change of paperwork on one hand, and on the other hand I have my baby grandson going to the kitchen table right now talking about 'give me a spoon and I will save the world!' because his first big sister was eavesdropping on 'Year of the Blob' next door and thinking that the blob is chocolate jiggly pudding! What control do I have to lose?”
Capt. R.E. Ludlow was on the phone with Lt. G.H. Truss again, talking about the facts of life.
“Yes, I said responsibilities, not control – learn it young and you will be happier. God has complete control – as a new Christian, you will wrestle with that, but it is the plain fact of Scripture and also of life. Look around you in the civilian world – what are we running? Think about it until I call you back later."
“That was kinda interesting, what Papa was saying to Lt. Truss,” ten-year-old Andrew Ludlow was saying to ten-year-old Glendella Ludlow as he pulled out her chair.
“Yeah, I've never heard anything like that,” Glendella said. “Grumps talked on the phone like he was running everything and everyone in the world, until he called over here and Upgrade Papa let him know that, no, not so much.”
“I think that's what kinda happens when you try to control everything for too long,” Andrew said. “You get away with it for a long time, but when your day comes, it really does.”
“Well, yeah, because the sun doesn't half come up,” Glendella said. “Your day is going to be your day, and your night is going to be your night. I heard Upgrade Papa laughing at Grumps, and that was some real midnight type of sound.”
“Yeah,” Andrew said. “The first note on the piano is an A, and Papa got below it. That's midnight with no moon, no stars, and a lot of things going bump in the night and looking for you.”
“That's a really good way to describe that sound,” Glendella said. “I knew I would be safe here, though, because Grumps and Bad Grandma can't run anything here – Upgrade Papa is responsible for all his grandkids, so, if I could become a bonus grandkid, I would be all right.”
“Yep,” Andrew said. “This is definitely where you needed to be, here with us the responsible Ludlows. I mean, Rob runs his mouth, but you know, with his mind and soul being way too big for his body, he can't help it at five years old – but nobody else has to always be talking about what they are running. We just all do what we are supposed to do. Papa and Grandma have their responsibilities, we have ours, we do the stuff and do life and it is all good.”
“We're not really letting Rob go up against the Blob by himself, are we?” Glendella said.
“If the Blob was made of chocolate pudding, it wouldn't stand a chance against him,” Andrew said, “but of course we would help and that would go much quicker.”
“See, this is why I love my new us,” Glendella said. “Everybody can be great at what they are great at, but we are even greater together!”
“Yep,” Andrew said.