“I don’t know how to get passed this.” I uttered those words through the phone to my sister. She tried to comfort me by explaining how she’d had a hard time when her co-worker’s mother passed away. It wasn’t the same. I had no bar, no past experience to measure this grief by. I had lost a friend. Tragically. In a way that no rational mind can understand. And it hit me hard. But what made it harder was that she wasn’t really a friend, at least not in the traditional sense of the word. She was a Facebook friend, a former grade school classmate who I knew through mutual friends. I hadn’t even seen her since high school, hadn’t interacted with her then and hadn’t thought about her since. Then she sent me a friend request. Here was this girl, who had been her class president, had been a cheerleader, had been popular, had been all the things I wasn’t in high school, requesting to be my friend on Facebook.I was exhilarated and intimated all at the same time. She posted a lot and I … [Read more...]
New Orleans: Then and Now
My Where Were You When-esday, which will probably be the last, is dedicated to New Orleans. Not because its been five years since Katrina. And not because its been five months since the oil spill. But because its been nine years since I first visited New Orleans. My first trip was in July 2001 for the Romance Writers of America annual conference. I was there as an editor, meeting with my authors and coaching would-be authors on writing a good category romance. I had brunch at the Commander’s Palace, rode the street car through the Garden District, drank a hurricane while walking along Bourbon Street, spent time in the courtyard of my hotel journaling , and fell in love with this city whose spirit – and by that I mean ghosts, too – inspired me to write. I couldn’t wait to return to capture that inspiration once again. When Katrina hit, I feared the New Orleans I fell in love with was lost. And it was but I don’t think Katrina is to blame, at least not entirely. I think what … [Read more...]
If You Couldn’t See…
I watch CBS Sunday Morning every week. Or at least I try to. Its part of my Sunday morning ritual -- a carry-over from the days before I was a mom when I would lounge around in my PJs, sipping my two cups of coffee and reading the local paper while watching this show that's always felt like a magazine on screen with its off-beat profiles and interesting interviews. I still enjoy my coffee, although perhaps not as leisurely, but the newspaper is gone and now I have to negotiate with the toddler to watch my show instead of Disney Channel cartoons. I'm lucky if I catch the whole thing (thank goodness for DVR). There was a segment on yesterday's episode that really stuck with me. It was about Captain Scott Smiley who lost his vision after a car bomb in Iraq sent shards of glass into his eyes and brain. He didn't let this stop him from living though and has since returned to active duty. His story is truly inspiring but what struck me the most was how he's never seen his children -- they … [Read more...]
Working From Home With a Toddler
I've been working from home for a month now and I'm surprised at how much I enjoy it and how easy its been (totally just jinxed myself). I'm not so naive to think that working from home is a cakewalk. There have definitely been challenging days, days when I didn't get done what I needed or wanted to, days when I wanted to throw my computer at the wall and run screaming down the street.But those days haven't clouded the good days or the joy I get from this additional time with my son. I'm not sure I would have enjoyed working from home as much when he was an infant. I enjoy sharing my office with this toddler. He's cute and funny and smart -- I know, I'm totally bias -- and I love just getting to know him more. I'm sure we'll continue to have our workplace squabbles but we're having a lot of fun, too. Do you share your home office with a toddler? How's it going? … [Read more...]
Revised Resolutions
I’ve been a blog slacker this week. Well, at my own blog, at least. I’ve been busy with the Maryland Life blog. Check out my latest post here. Vacation is my excuse, even though it was a short one, and work, too. We just sent the magazine off to the printer yesterday. My blog slacking got me to thinking about my goals for this blog, which got me to thinking about my personal goals. I don’t usually make New Year’s Resolutions – I usually prefer to set yearly goals on my birthday – but this year I did. I made three New Year’s Resolutions and now I think it’s time to revisit them. Run a 5K I am not a runner. I’ve never been much of an athlete. But I signed up for Francie’s Family 5K in March anyway. I got three weeks into training and the blizzards hit. I ended up just walking that race. I tried again in April and, through a combination of running and walking, I completed the Cupcake 5K in just under 45 minutes. But I want to run a 5K in its entirety. I haven’t been running this summer … [Read more...]
