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Friday, August 30, 2013

A Summer Retrospect


It wasn't the summer we dreamed of. Mostly because it rained nearly every day. No one I know can remember such a rainy summer, ever. It was hard to stay entertained when most days were spent indoors. It was hard to miss out on our usual lazy days at the pool. And yet, as I prepared this retrospect, I realized it was still a pretty good summer. A summer that still feels, largely, unspent. But a summer that is, nevertheless, over as of this weekend. Sniff!

Here's how we spent it:
 
 
We spent as much time all together as possible, as we knew fall would see us in separate places. 


We made sundaes.

 
 We celebrated my new novel, The Wishing Tree, release. Haven't read it? There's still time! It's a beach read so it's great for those of us who want to hang onto the beach a bit longer.
 
 
We saw Fleetwood Mac in concert. (Thanks to my husband we were this close!) That's Lindsay and Stevie. I think we need a few more pics of this.
 

Lindsay playing guitar, which is something I think everyone should get to see. The guy is an amazing guitar player. At one point he was so close that, had I wanted his sweat to drip on me, I could've had that experience. I am a fan but... not that big a fan.
 

 
Stevie and Mick high fiving. It was Mick's 65th birthday that night and the whole crowd sang to him.
 
 
Lindsay taking a breather. I know. Close. It was a birthday gift I'll never forget.
 
Anyway, back to summer.
 
 
 

 
We read a lot (and obviously we ate junky cereal because, after all, that's what summer is for)


 
We swam on swim team, went to the banquet and got trophies!
 

 
We celebrated 4th of July at our community pool, as always.


We made watermelon smiles
 

 

We watched an impressive fireworks display with front row seats.
 



I even snuck in some writing.
 



We got our toes (and nails) done. Pretty toes are a summer essential.
 


We hung out at the pool whenever the sun peeked through the clouds. 



We acted silly with friends.
 

 
 
We took a family vacation-- one final hurrah. 
 
 

 
Because all too soon it was time for this.
 
I'm trying to get geared up for fall, trying to get in the mood to put out pumpkins and plan for the holidays and switch my sundresses and flip flops to jeans and boots. But my heart will always be in and for summer. No matter how old I get, I'll always be a summer girl.
 
 

And for those of you who love the Mac, here's a little bit of what I got to see that summer night. This also happens to be my all-time favorite FM song. I quoted it as the epigram for She Makes It Look Easy:

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Wednesday, August 28, 2013

All The Ages


My son turned 21 two weeks ago. I'm still trying to adjust to the fact that he is a legal adult. That I'm old enough to have a child that old. I mean, I was his age when I found out I was pregnant with him-- and that was just a minute ago! Nevertheless, the time, it has flown and now he is grown... or is he?

Because when I look at him I see all the ages he has been. I see the infant in the carseat that my husband and I stared down at as we walked in the door of our apartment the day we brought him home. I see the babbling toddler. I see the two year old sucking a pacifier and refusing to nap. I see the 7 year old boy nervous about doing his first play, telling me that the city of Washington is "in his blood." (It still is, by the way-- mothers of young kids, pay attention, all the signs of who that child is going to be are already there.) I see the boy who played baseball and football but still loved acting best of all. I see the teen, acquiescing to pose for a picture as he drove away alone for the first time.

As I've thought about this, marveling over what it means to have a bonafide grown-up for a child, I've thought about myself and how, in a way, I am all the ages as well. Yes I'm a 43 year old mom of six with a writing habit and a busy life. But I'm also the little girl who climbed a mountain on a beautiful spring day and drank from a spring, the water clear and sweet. I'm the sunburnt kid whose father taught her to sail. I'm the preteen who was the first one in my family to discover the newly born calf wobbling around in our pasture. I'm the awkward middle-schooler who thought I'd be stuck with braces and zits forever. I still love Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream from Baskin Robbins. I'm still drawn to water in any form-- river, creek, ocean, lake. I still crave Chef Boyardee pizza. I still lose myself in stories, entering fully into the book I am holding. I still desire blocks of time alone. Though, admittedly, I don't get them all that often.

I think that all the ages are what comes into play as a writer. When I write a character of a certain age-- be it child, teen, student, woman-- I don't just try to remember what it was like. I become that age again, interacting with that character. I become that age because I am still that age, and all the others. (And if I'm writing an older person, I imagine the woman I will be when I get to that point in life, because it is close enough that I have a pretty good idea.) One of the things I love most about writing is the chance to capture some of the good and deal with some of the bad that comes with all the ages. My son is a good writer and I hope someday he'll get to recall all the ages he's been through his own writing. And what he can't recall, I will share, with wonder.
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Sunday, August 25, 2013

Setting Monthly Goals




This is kind of a new concept for me, one I stumbled upon after a post I read via Pinterest. I like this idea because it feels doable. When I set goals for a year it just seems so big and all encompassing. It feels more manageable to break goals down into monthly doses. With that in mind, I've set goals for the month of September. They might be a bit lofty, goals set by a rookie who thinks she can accomplish more than possible in 30 measly days.

But. It's a start.

If you'd like to set goals for September (and really with school getting back underway, it's the perfect time) then here are some posts I found helpful as I searched for tips and ideas for productive monthly goal setting.


 

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Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Something To Think About




"A ship is safe in harbour, but that's not what ships are for." - William Shedd

(I'm on vacation this week but I came across this quote and thought I'd share. I've been thinking about it ever since. Maybe you'd like to ponder it too.)
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Tuesday, August 06, 2013

Diving Into Edits


those are not my feet, just sayin


I'm about to dive into revamping that YA novel I mentioned a few weeks ago. My agent got back to me with suggestions. Let's just say there were more than a few suggestions as to how to improve the story. Everything from characterization to plot to dialogue and... you get the picture. When I get a letter like that, I nearly quit. And I've gotten many letters like that if that gives you any idea how often I have wanted to quit.

But then I have to go back to whatever made me write this particular story. What compelled me to believe strongly enough in whatever image first seized me to write those first words. And then to keep on typing word after word (after word, after word...). In the end, I'm the only one who can see that initial vision through, and I'm the only one who can make the needed changes for others to appreciate the full and complete picture that developed out of that one little epiphany. I'm the man for the job, such as it were. (See feet, above)

And so I text and call my writing buddies who get it. I whine and complain and tell them I'm quitting. Then they send me really honest emails and texts that say things like "Do the edits. You have no choice." And then they tell me stories that make me feel better about how unlikable their characters always are at first. And then they ask me what exactly my agent (or editor) said and they spend their time helping me brainstorm some solutions. Though I may not use all their suggestions, they get me started. Ultimately they hold my feet to the fire. They remind me why I do this (I'm utterly unemployable otherwise). They help me remember what I love best about writing and that the beauty of the story only becomes visible in the polishing.

And then I take a deep breath, hold my nose, and dive in. Because there is nowhere else to go. And because I know that in the depths I will meet the story I was meant to write.

I used Grammarly to grammar check this post, because you know I need all the help I can get.
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Thursday, August 01, 2013

An Ice Cream Afternoon




When I said I'd host a Cadbury High Tea party, I had no idea what to expect. So imagine my surprise and delight when boxes of Cadbury ice cream bars showed up packed on dry ice on my doorstep! The wonders of technology never cease to amaze my simpleton brain.

I had every intention of throwing a full-fledged high tea like the kit suggested, complete with china tea cups and the adorable fascinator hats they sent as part of my party kit. But alas, vacations, bouts with pinkeye and swimmers ear, and a plethora of silly tasks conspired to push that further and further out on the horizon. When would I have the wherewithal to decorate my house, send out invites, and carve out several hours to host such a party? And would anyone even come in the midst of their own busy schedules??

happy little girls enjoying ice cream

And that's when I hit upon an idea-- why not take the party on the road? In my case, just up the road to my neighborhood pool. No clean up, no invites because our friends are already there, and no time to carve out because we are going to be there anyway trying to soak up some (rare!) sun. So that's just what we did. I toted my frozen treats up the road and, during the first adult swim, broke out the party in a box that is Cadbury Ice Cream bars.

boys being silly-- the ice cream just makes them sillier
 

Let me tell you, I am rarely supermom or popular with the kids like I was on that day! I was, also, popular with the adults. And the lifeguards. No one could believe their fortune-- delicious ice cream appearing out of the blue, and on an otherwise ordinary day. People all but broke out in song.

nothing brightens a woman's day like chocolate-- and a float, and a pool

A word on these treats, if you'd like to buy several boxes and take them to your local pool, or just surprise your family with a special dessert one evening: We had Caramello, Dark Chocolate, Vanilla Chocolate, and English Toffee varieties. The favorites varied as much as the folks enjoying them. The consensus was-- they were all good. The chocolate is quality chocolate, in a nice, thick, not skimped on layer around Blue Bunny ice cream that doesn't taste like it's loaded with preservatives. And also? I love that these snack size bars are not huge. They are a good size, a decent size, perfect for a little something sweet.



Just the right size to brighten an already bright summer afternoon!



*I received the party kit as part of a promotional program with Cadbury and MomSelect.
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