Kimberly Walker

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2022

Stories (54)

54 Stories

1108 karma pts

?

“From Seeds of the Great Oak” by Kimberly Walker

Submitted to Contest #175

From seeds of the Great Oak With every grade advancement, my daughter’s homework challenges me as much as her. Now in Science class, they are learning about plants; we will research the oak tree for her project. Wow, in Virginia alone grows, 139 variations. The oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus of the beech family. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus (stone oaks), as well as in those of unrelated species such as G...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Elf #1 Reporting ” by Kimberly Walker

Submitted to Contest #174

Elf #1 ReportingEverything has changed since the Abacus, the first calculation instrument we used in this workshop. I realized how slow and unreliable it was. It evolved into the hand-held calculator and the modern-day computer. I know many think IBM built the first computer but here is how it happened; please keep this quiet.We elves invented the device that you all call the BlackBerry in 1790. It made it much easier to record and track inventory, from the looms to a pair of jeans or the tree to the rocking chair. Like you, we also used it ...

4 comments 4
Read story

“My Soapbox ” by Kimberly Walker

Submitted to Contest #172

My Soapbox How much is a life worth? I once pouted for three weeks after my grandmother accidentally sent a blank birthday card. She promised to bring double when she visited in a month for the fourth. She was not my favorite person until I got all twenty dollars counted out in my hand. My feelings about things have changed from childhood to now. If someone had asked the 10-year-old me this question, I might have said $10, my allowance and birthday ransom amount. I didn’t learn the meaning or value of money until I had been on my own for a f...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Not the Trip I Planned” by Kimberly Walker

Submitted to Contest #170

Not the Trip I PlannedHe was not the children’s father but taught them to fish. Looking back now, I realize it was not quite as I remembered; he needed rides to the fishing holes because he didn’t have a car. That was the problem; he would take my car and leave me stranded. I would usually be at work and need to pick up my children from daycare and after-school programs. I had been in a vicarious situation for the last time around November 10th while temping at the Post Office, so I found a used car in the paper and insisted he purchases it....

2 comments 2
Read story

“Smoke and Miracle ” by Kimberly Walker

Submitted to Contest #169

Smoke and Miracle Miracle, the black vanishing cat with the orange tip on his tail. Number thirteen and the runt of the litter. He was the odd kitten of the bunch; all the others were calico or tabby. Smoke was female, number seven in the birth order, and mischievous. She was a giant kitten and got a full belly every feeding, whether her siblings were fed or not. Smoke was the other somewhat different kitten, although a grey and white Tabby with the infamous “M” outlining her eyebrows, she’s a beautiful light misty grey fading to white. The ...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Tarnished Halos ” by Kimberly Walker

Submitted to Contest #168

Although fiction, this story contains murder, rape, and suicide.Tarnished HalosWhy do I keep torturing myself week after week? Sitting here staring out the window as this train slowly rips me away from my comfortable place. All four decades of my life have been spent in Saint Andrews. First, a choir boy, then an altar boy, and four years of seminary school. The obvious next step was the priesthood. I've always known that I was destined to be a priest like my father, his father, and so on, four generations back. I have loved my pari...

4 comments 4
Read story

“Twenty Minute Queendom” by Kimberly Walker

Submitted to Contest #167

Twenty Minute Queendom Every year for our birthday, four girlfriends with the same birth date would make plans for the Saturday after or before the 5th. We met in the first grade and the same day of our birthday was often the last day of school for the year and the class end-of-the-year party. Well, that became a yearly thing for us. Some years we just went to lunch for an hour at a central restaurant between our jobs. Since I became an adult, things have moved at a too-busy pace to daydream or even time for a wish. Two years, unfortunately,...

2 comments 2
Read story

“The Humble Hero” by Kimberly Walker

Submitted to Contest #166

The Humble Hero  I’m too old for this! I have tried to retire for ten years and you all keep pulling me back to coach or run in these races every time. I knew I couldn’t handle a whole race, please. I will always love you and the races, but I am no spring chicken anymore. I only do it to raise awareness for my charity, (S.H.E). Shelter for Help in an Emergency. I plan to pass the baton to someone else this year, and if you’re interested in winning, you’ve got to put someone faster on the anchor leg. My heyday was twenty years ago. Your...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Lady Monique ” by Kimberly Walker

Submitted to Contest #160

Lady Monique The loud whistle of Grandma’s tea kettle blew at 4:30 every morning. Breakfast was on the table by 4:35. This morning was no different, my job was to bring in water from the well. We don’t have running water but it was a roof over head. Everything moves in precision around the kitchen before time for school and work in this cabin, once in the main house it’s crazy here on the St. Clair plantation. Not only is it the first day of tobacco harvesting but Lady Monique is due to arrive any minute. Papa and the other men have been toi...

2 comments 2
Read story

Author bio

A Cygnet looking to be a Swan...hoping everyone on Reedsy can help me grow into a good writer by leaving a message about every story you read of mine...Thanks! I’m Kimberly, 56, a mom of three grown men, grandma to the best football and basketball playing, straight “A” puller of my heart’s strings, and a granddaughter I don’t get to see hardly enough. At age thirty-one, a car accident paralyzed me from my neck down. The hospital and rehab can spoil and lull you into a false sense of security. After coming home to a new apartment and the new problems of daily living, I would ask the Lord first thing in the morning to make me normal or dead upon opening my eyes. After I realized the incredible blessing I had been granted, I changed that prayer into a thankful one. I then decided to live for my children. Despite my limitations, I knew I had to be the best mother. I still maintain a house, provide for the family, give loving guidance to the guys, and supervise my care. Being home just took on a new meaning. As time passed, I realized things were slowly becoming our new normal, easier to navigate and more comfortable. One day I looked up, and ten years had flown by. Each child has graduated high school. I appreciate life more because I’m not afraid to face the next challenge. I even rose to meet one; my counselor wanted me to participate in the Miss Wheelchair pageant in 2009. Immediately after that weekend, my health started the “four-decade decline.” my symptoms were not presenting as it does in most people. Doctors struggled to diagnose my symptoms correctly. The doctors believed I had cancer until a bone marrow extraction ruled it out. Finally, in late 2009, we had a name for my weird body attacks: Sarcoidosis. Still, I continued to coast and say, “Yeah, I should write my story down.” Not sure how to get started; I still procrastinated for far too long. My wake-up call happened in 2016. After a month-long coma and a terrifying recap of my family’s ordeal, I knew I needed to step out on that faith I claimed to have. After realizing the wonderful blessing, I had been granted again; I decided not to squander it further. Fast forwarding to today, I have learned to take things in stride. I now know I enjoy writing short stories and poetry as much as I did as a child. I had to stop living vicariously through my children and live for myself. I’m learning to speak with the new voice I’ve been given through writing after my health scare in 2016. From that moment on, I vowed not to waste another minute; it was time to prove that I wasn’t just an old fool in a wheelchair. My books are on Amazon: Blessed Beyond Belief: Biography Loose Purls: Poetry Mind Dump: Poetry