Worn Once

a writing prompt for you + schedule note + June Writing Hour

Jun 19, 2024

Welcome to Writing in Company. Most weeks I share some words and a writing prompt, meant to be jumping-off points for you to write about what matters. Use the prompts however you like—to journal, to draft thoughts for your own writing project, as meditation or prayer ideas, or for another creative endeavor. You can always look back through the archive for more ideas. Grab your pen and paper, and let your words loose on the page.

One of the gifts of writing in company is the ongoing opportunity to be inspired by the words of others. This week it was in a powerful piece sent by a friend and subscriber, before she submits it to a contest. She shared words born of grief—in the language of loss she learned—and so many of us have learned—to speak before we are ready.

Here’s the line I want to share, recalling the day of her husband’s funeral:

“I wear a dark navy jersey dress bought for this day and which I will never wear again.”1

Instantly, I am sent back in time.

I sit on a chair at the mall, winded. I’ve only been upright for a few days, after weeks of bedrest. Everything is sore. My belly is sore from surgery. My breasts are sore from the industrial pump they sent me home with so I can shuttle milk back to the NICU, where my baby learns to eat and breathe and grow. My heart is sore, too. I’m buying shoes for my other baby’s funeral.

I’ve got a borrowed navy and yellow maternity dress to wear, and none of my shoes fit. So I am at the mall at closing time. Around me swirl the last few oblivious shoppers. The cashier wants to settle her register. I want to go to bed. I don’t want to see anyone I know. I can barely breathe.

How did this happen?

I pick out navy flats, that I will wear the next day—to the garden, to the church, to the NICU—then never again.

a writing prompt

Write about something you wore that you will never wear again.

schedule note

Moving day is getting close! As I make a transition to a new house and town, I’m taking a couple weeks off from writing. Look for my next prompt on July 10.

June Writing Hour - Saturday, June 22 | 4-5 pm Eastern

My next live writing hour on Zoom for paid subscribers is this week. If you want to write in company with others, you are welcome to join in. You can upgrade your subscription for a month ($7) just to try it. A separate email to paid subscribers will go out with the link, or you can find it on my Substack tab called Writing Hours. Let’s write together.

like | comment | share

Join in the conversation with others in the comments. Tell us what you think about the prompt, or where your writing takes you.

Writing in Company