My tennis lesson yesterday was intense, and by intense, I mean I spent a lot of the hour and a half getting the ball slammed at me during a “put away” drill. Part of that had to do with the nature of the drill we were doing, and the other part was because the ladies on the other side of the net can bring the heat. Regardless, I walked away with sore shoulders, good strategic advice and a great blog idea. My instructor, JK, was talking about the importance of touch: when it helps to have a soft … [Read more...]
Open door policy
The dinner table seems to be a great place to discover blog material, especially when you have a large family. Someone is always saying something prolific (at least in their opinion) or witty (my 12-year-old has wit way beyond his years). Now that mom is a blogger, they love to give me suggestions on what I should write about. I usually don’t need (or use) the suggestions because I feel my blogs turn out better when I find the ideas randomly, but because of the new year and in light of what’s … [Read more...]
The Big Picture
About a month ago, I went on a hike with one of my friends. We were hiking in a new place, she had a new camera and because it was her birthday, we were celebrating the beginning of a new year for her. The hike was about two miles to the top and we took our time looking at everything. We took pictures of leaves, trees, rocks and anything else that looked remotely interesting. She used her camera and I used my phone and we snapped away. Neither one of us wanted to miss any of the details. When we … [Read more...]
Who’s in the driver’s seat?
Literally This can be a literal question or a figurative one. I have to answer both questions differently. When I’m in the car, I like to be the passenger. It has a lot to do with the fact that I have a horrible sense of direction. I live in a major metropolitan area with a major traffic problem and no matter how many times I get on the major roads (aka the Beltway), I have major problems. Pretty major, right. I’m being dramatic but I really can get stressed out if I’m going someplace that’s … [Read more...]
I’m versus I am…It’s a serious question
Ok, so you all know about my editing challenges by now, and I’d like to put them in the past too, but as I was self-editing my sequel to Stay yesterday, I had a thought. If I know I’m going to change most of the I am’s to I’m in the final draft, why don’t I just write them that way to begin with? It certainly would save me time. I know this and I still don’t change it. I write I am every time. It’s simply what I do as a writer. It’s who I am. Who are you, I really want to know I’m going to get … [Read more...]
The ship hasn’t left the port. Embark and go…
Not so long ago, I was listening to a lecture on how parents can help their children find and embrace their gifts, talents and passions. I walked away from it with some valuable insight on how to encourage and support my kids in finding success doing the things that make them happy. Never once during the lecture did I think that these same insights and suggestions could be applied to me at all. It’s so unfortunate that as we get older, we often accept the idea that we can’t or shouldn’t try new … [Read more...]