Thursday, May 22, 2014

Rocking in Real Life

Kathy, over at the old Swaggerwriters hangout, wrote a post about family and spring and lilacs and stuff, which was super nice.  She pointed out that a good story needs the kind of conflict that happy families and good times often lack.

I have a happy family.  My children are healthy.  My marriage is satisfying.  But life has provided me with some good material for stories.  Actually, this week has provided plenty.

The boys returned home from college visits early Monday morning and it was great to have a full house again.

But the dog is sick.  I think it's kidney stones again.  Suffice it to say that we lost a rug and I can't even bring myself to go down into the basement (her preference place for accidents.)

My sister cancelled her agreement to help out this weekend while the guys were gone when she found lice on her kid's heads - my youngest had it too so plenty of laundry and (at Casey's request) a full head-shave.  My aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer, I've had a handful of mini-seizures and one full, which makes driving...tricky.  And today, my mom is having stents put into her heart.  My own doctor's appointment is at 10:15, then I'll walk over to Mom's end of the hospital and sit until she gets into recovery.

Okay, now screw that last paragraph because, although, as Kathy points out, it's the one that would make the book sell, in real life, focusing on that stuff only feels like crap.

This week?  I also celebrated a friend's graduation. (Latasha rules!)

I invited an out-of-town girlfriend to stay with me and we snuck out to try the new Chinese restaurant in Evanston, which has one of the best bowls of soup I've ever tasted.  Also, my fearless friend caught a mouse who'd been evading my giant cats for weeks.  (Go Clara!)

I got to teach a zen-peace lesson in Casey's class at school, where the kids were engaged and excited about the emerging Buddha in their lobby.

The last Courageous Conversations on Race was a hit and was made even better by a large donation of extra food for families by Rebecca Parmet at Campus Kitchens.

A student from this semester's Women in US Society class may join COPE as an additional intern and two of my oldest friends are coming over for dinner and song practice on Friday in preparation for COPE's community benefit concert. (Tina and Rina rock-in-real-life and if "rock-in-real-life" is not already a saying then I claim it as my own and will now be using it liberally - like, "Hey girl, you rock-in-real-life.")

Last, and most delicious, I'm looking forward to an all-girl's sleepover Saturday night in McHenry. (Leslie and Jenny, you rock-in-real-life.)

So nevermind the good story.  I'm holding out for something a little more zen-peace.

6 comments:

  1. I know there were sad moments & even traumatic ones in my "happy" childhood, but time has a way of blurring those images and strengthening the happy ones. Good luck to you & your mom with the health issues. You rock-in-real-life, my dear friend.

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    1. So do you! How's the progress of the book going? When will it be published?!!!

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    2. Spring, 2015. No exact date yet, but copy editing is finished & its present copy is final. An artist was hired for the cover, & bound galleys should be available for reviewers sometime next month. Beyond excited!!! I'm currently working on a new novel (about folks less fortunate than I).

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    3. Wow! WOW!!! So excited for you.

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  2. Take care of yourself. I know you always care for others first. I'll be thinking of you and hoping that you and your mom recover quickly. <3

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    1. Thanks, Ann. All is well. And I saw those gorgeous pictures of your son's graduation. Clearly, you are rocking it in real life!

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