Imaginings: Help! My Closet Monster Doesn't Want to Leave

The monster under the bed told me the monster in the closet was crying last night. I don't know why the bed monster thinks I should care about a crying monster since most kids are afraid of monsters in their room. The under the bed monster's name is Harold and the closet monster is Pooky. Pooky, the closet monster has big blue ears and a purple nose. One arm is pink, the other green. His teeth are crammed into his oversized mouth and his fur is matted. He is obviously a well worn monster. Also, only kids under eight years old can see him. It is clear that his crying will not make my getting ready for school fun.

I decided to ignore them and just get dressed for school, which would have been fine, but Pooky was holding the closet door shut. My clothes were being held hostage by a closet monster. Mom is not going to be happy. She's called me twice already. I don't think me not getting dressed will impress her and me telling her that a closet monster was keeping me from my clothes,will definitely not be good. So here I am, begging Pooky to open the door. Oops, there goes Mom again. Next thing you know she will be at the door.

"Pooky, please open the door, Mom will be here any minute."

"No, you don't like me as much as you like Harold and I don't want to leave your closet next week."

"I like you both the same, besides you and Harold are getting close to the time you will need to find another place to live. You know the rules, next week when I turn eight, you guys have to leave."

"I don't want to leave."

"Tell you what, Pooky, we can talk about this when I get home from school this afternoon, but right now I can hear Mom on her way up here and I have to get dressed."

"Oh alright. Here are your jeans and shirt." Pooky quickly opened the door and threw them out, then slammed the door shut.

I was buttoning the last button on my shirt when Mom opened my room's door. That was close.

I'm not sure how I will deal with Pooky and I'm sure I will be thinking of nothing else all day during school. What does a person do when it comes time for a monster to move on and he doesn't want to?

Help me out here, readers:

• How do I convince Pooky to go?
• Why might Pooky not want to leave?
• Have you ever had a problem like this?
• What did you do?
• Should we ask Harold for his help?
• What if Pooky stays?
• Why do you think monsters are supposed to leave when their kid turns eight?

Thoughts: Poetry (Random verses)

Layers

Clothes can be bulky

Winter clothes are that way too

Dress warm for winter

Snow falls cold and white

Snow, loved and tolerated

Plows push it away.

Blizzards blow and blow

Chilling wind, icy snowflakes

Fireplace feels nice.

Blizzards seem to blow and blow

With chilling winds and icy snow

Shovels, hats, gloves and more

Children don to hit the door.

Snowballs, snowmen, forts and winter sun

Adults don't seem to see the fun

Just the shoveling that must be done.

Cherry blossoms pink

Decorating the Spring day

Sign of winter gone.

Birthdays come yearly

Some are easy, some are hard

Cake is nice to eat.

Today I'm sixty

I've seen history being made

Time passes quickly.

The morning mist kissed the rose

Leaving diamonds in its wake.

The sun arose, its beams reflecting off the diamond drops

Making the garden seem a fairyland.

Books

Marching in orderly file

Topically or by author

Dewey decimals screaming to be heard

What do you thing they do when no one is watching?

Perhaps living out their stories like a silent film.

Imagination

Creativity gone wild

Wonderful color

Leaves falling from sky

Being painted by early frost

Color bursting forth.

Tears

Emotional blood

Falling downward unbidden

Hemorrhaging pain; expressing joy

Tears

A child with open arms

Bids one to give it hugs

Children so innocent and trusting

Don't realize how  wonderful they are

It is so sad that hugs become fewer as they age.

Love

Hearts aflame

Burning with passion

Bursting with emotional fireworks

Love

Leaves

Turning color

Expressing artistic freedom

Breaking loose to swirl

Leaves

Art: The integration of creativity and imagination.

Thoughts:Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones...

...But words will never harm me. I first heard this in elementary school and soon realized that words cut way deeper and leave much worse scars than sticks and stones. I learned in kindergarten that being shy and dressing differently than others opened up a whole world for bullies and unkind words. Throughout my school life I was made fun of, jeered at, hair pulled, name called, clothes torn, and treated as a pariah. I enjoyed Christian college because, for the first time I was not dealing with bullies. I guess I was pretty naive to think that being bullied was in my past and that now, as an adult, I would not face cruel people. One of the things that hurt most is when I discover that a person who calls me friend when alone with me, says unkind things about me and joins in with bullies when they are with  people they want to impress. If I mention the inconsistency to the individual they lie and deny what I could plainly see. Is it any wonder that I am difficult to get to know? The sad thing is that I've had this happen over and over. In fact, it is happening at my workplace now.

I had a chance to apply for a different position which might be a nice step up. I made it through the two interviews and am now waiting to see if I am offered the job. In the meantime, I have noticed being treated differently by a couple people who call me "friend". It really hurts to be treated like I don't exist when others are present, but as a "buddy" when no one from their dept. is near. I was told that the dept. team don't believe I "fit", that the dept. was too laid back for me. The truth is, I am not a member of a sorority, my politics do not aline with them, and I am white. The sad thing is, I have overheard conversations by this group about "white privilege", how white cops enjoy killing blacks, etc. That bothers me a lot, especially since these are the very people who set up training for diversity and harassment. I have read some Facebook posts by some of these individuals that, in this day and age, might put their jobs at risk. There is obviously a leader of this group of bullies. What I can't imagine is why the followers allow the influences to poison them. People who so obviously wish to be independent thinkers and leaders are allowing someone else to manipulate and control them.

This group is trying to bully me into turning down the job I applied for. Let me make this perfectly clear, if I turn the job down, it will be because I saw a better opportunity elsewhere. However, I see it as a compliment that I am such a threat to these bullies that they have to work so hard to intimidate me. If I decide to take the job, they need to recognize that I have been in this position many times. I have faced bullies all my life and though I appear to be an easy mark, I am experienced and battle-scarred. I will not accept the lead bully as my leader. I have learned to stand alone, even though ostracized from the group. I have also learned to build allies to stand with me. I will do what I have to to survive wherever I am.