Getting into the Writing Zone with Kids at Home #IWSG #writinglife

The first Wednesday of every month is officially 

Insecure Writer's Support Group day.

The Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It's a safe have for insecure writers of all kinds!

IWSG Asks: Do you have any rituals that you use when you need help getting into the ZONE? Care to share? 

Yes! I'm all about rituals. Or habits. Or magical spells.

Getting into the ZONE is one of the easiest and equally most difficult things for me to do. Typically, I try to get my writing done first thing in the morning when my brain feels fresh and I have no distractions (aka my kids are still sleeping).

My morning routine remains relatively the same each day. Feed the kitty-cats. Make coffee or tea. Do some yoga and meditation. Eat breakfast. 

And then sit-butt-in-chair and write.

Now that my kids are home from school thanks to Covid-19, I usually have the mornings all to myself from 6am to sometime after 8am-ish. My 5 y/o is the alarm clock for the family. When he wakes up, everyone else wakes up and then our day truly begins. (This online schooling sucks, btw. Just saying.)

But while I have the house blissfully to myself, I can write and edit to my heart's content. To get into the ZONE, I re-read a brief section of the work I did the day before and then force myself to write. One word at a time. Then one sentence at a time. And one paragraph, and on and on.

It's not fun at first, but I have a ticking time bomb of when will my kids wake up hovering over me. It's a race of how much writing can I do before they wake and stop me? There are times when I come upon that elusive ZONE just by sheer force of willpower. Other times, it stays just beyond my reach. 

Since this is my job, however, I need to write more than an hour or two in the morning.

When I need to keep writing after a morning of chaos with my four children (breakfast, getting dressed, making beds, yes, of course you need to brush your teeth - and your hair! I don't care if we're not going anywhere today!), that makes it a little more tricky.

After my children are done taking turns sharing the school's borrowed Chromebook to do their lessons, they are free to play or cause whatever mayhem they can concoct (safely) while I use my earphones to block out the noise. Since I'm a single mom and have no one to help me with the kids, my writing desk is the sofa in the living room. I'm still there physically, at least, to prevent any major disasters. Mentally, if I'm lucky, I'm worlds away!

In this situation, I use music to help get into the ZONE. The music depends on the work-in-progress. I often create a playlist for the story I'm writing to help get me in the mood. Or I have a certain type of music for whatever subgenre I'm writing. Type O'Negative always works well for me when I'm writing gothic paranormals or dark suspense or I'll listen to classical music if I'm writing a historical or regency romance. Of course, Christmas music is perfect for a holiday romance. You get the idea.

I wish it was easier. The ZONE is a mystical place where the writing fairy blesses us and our fingers fly with something akin to a magical presence controlling us.

I'll be honest. There are many days that I don't achieve the ZONE. 

Those are sad days. 

But, the writing still needs to get done. Getting into the ZONE is like icing on the cake. Such deliciousness! But plain cake is still good, too.

Be safe! Stay healthy! Keep writing!


~ Tricia 

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Insecure Writer's Support Group!

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Silly... or Not so Silly Pet Peeves #LongandShortReviews #BlogChallenge

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

This week's topic: My Silliest Pet Peeves

I'm sure I have some silly pet peeves, but as my brain is fried from this lockdown, I can only think of two pet peeves and it's because of my children.

I don't know if these are considered silly or not (maybe by some people who don't have kids), but here goes...

1.) I can't stand when there's stuff on the floor in my house. I don't mean stuff that's supposed to be there such as a coffee table, sofa or a box of toys (insert my 14 year-old's sarcasm with this one), but the other stuff. The stuff that has a home and it is not the floor. Like blankets, toys, books, paper, legos... 

The list can go on and on in my house. I find such random things on the floor and it boggles my mind how it gets there. Batteries, headphones, the TV remote, puzzle pieces, socks, erasers, pencils, candy wrappers, a soda can. 

I mean, really?? Do we not know where things go?

Also, I might need to put this in perspective for those of you who don't know me. I have four kids. Count 'em. FOUR. Between the ages of 14 and 5. And I also have this mysterious kid who always gets blamed for stuff. I have yet to meet this one, but the poor thing gets blamed for everything. Such as when I found the crust of a peanut butter sandwich under the coffee table. Every one of my children exclaimed, "It wasn't me!" So who does that leave? 

Yep. Some kid named, I Don't Know.

It's a never ending battle in my house to get my kids to pick up after themselves. I seriously feel like if I don't follow them around all day long, reminding them to put things away, they instead simply toss whatever item is in their hand over their shoulder and the action is mysteriously wiped from their brain.

Don't get me wrong, my kids are amazing! They are really wonderful kids. Well-behaved, polite, kind-mannered... for other people! When we visit friend's houses, I always get compliments on how my children pickup after themselves and they are so neat and clean.

Well, obviously, there's some sort of mutation that begins in their brains when they enter my abode, because neat and clean they are not!

I just want to be able to vacuum the living room floor without having to spend an hour picking up stuff first. And what's with all the tiny, itty-bitty pieces of paper? Where does that even come from??

2.) I make my bed every morning, and I wish (pray, dream, envision, beg?) that my children make their beds every day, too. (Yeah, that doesn't happen.)

I think a bedroom looks better when the bed is neatly made. The rest of the room could be disorganized chaos with everything else (bookshelves, night stands, dressers, etc), but if the bed is made, I feel somewhat content and I feel like I've accomplished something first thing in the day.

Yet, despite my continued efforts to make my bed every morning, invariably throughout the day, I need to make it again and again and again.

"Why?" do you ask.

Because for the last 14 years, I've had children growing in my house and they seem to find some appeal in destroying a neatly made bed. 

Not theirs... mine. 

Whether its because of bouncing or playing hide-and-seek or some other inventive game-play, my bed is somehow made an integral part and the neatness of my blankets, quilts and pillows is inevitably destroyed as a result.

Friends and family promise me that one day, I'll miss having stuff on my floor and my bed a constant heap of blankets and pillows. One day, my kids will all be grown and living lives of their own and my house will remain neat and clean.

And I hope each of my kids has children just like themselves!

Of course, if it goes on as such (and I'm lucky enough to live that long), I'll be a grandparent one day and I'll probably have grandkids at my house throwing stuff over their shoulders without a second glance and bouncing on my bed to see who can go highest. So I don't foresee my life changing much.

Life with children.

I love it. I love it so much! (Seriously, I do!) But it will drive me crazy one day.

Is it any wonder why parents go gray??

Okay, my little rant is over. Go about your day.

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Summer Fun - Favorite Things to Do

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge hosted by Long and Short Reviews.

Today's topic: Favorite Things to do in the Summer

My favorite things to do in the summer always involve my children. While I have three active Scouts, we typically have a summer filled with camping, hiking, fishing, swimming and all sorts of outdoor activities. The school where my kids attend also offers summer programs. There are trips to the local vocational school where they attend workshops and learn new skills. And every year, I enroll my kids in swimming lessons. I love watching them glow with pride at the new abilities they learn as they advance through the levels. I call them my little fish, although my daughter argues that she's a mermaid.

Our amusement park of choice is Knoebels Grove. With free admission and free parking, you can't really go wrong here. Pay only for the rides you want to go on or buy an all day pass. Set in a beautiful shady grove, it provides a much needed respite from the summer sun and heat. There's rides for all ages. I've been going here since I was a kid. My favorite is still the Haunted House!

I've become an expert at searching the local community websites for free or low cost activities. With four kids, prices always add up. Lucky for us, there are many fun things to do.

There's a movie theater that offers $1 days. There are low cost craft activities at some of the local stores. With enough searching, I found free tours at nearby museums. There are also some battlefields that are close, such as Gettysburg, where the kids and I can walk and learn about history. I'm also quite knowledgeable about the local ghost activity which is fun to talk about with the kids. When they're older, I'd love to take them on some ghost tours!

I also love attending Native American Pow-wows. There are always a few scheduled nearby. Some are free, some are a low admission. Then we spend the day watching the dancers, listening to the music, talking to the people and admiring their crafts and other items. There's usually some games. Throwing a tomahawk is fun! I'm a natural. And then there's the dancing. My kids and I often dance within the circle with the other dancers. My favorite part of the event!






Do you know what my kid's favorite activity is in the summer? The one thing they ask for again and again?

A picnic.

That's it.

I took them on a picnic a couple of years ago in a park near a covered bridge not far from my home. It was an impromptu event. We were in the area doing some shopping and we were hungry. Instead of sitting in a crowded restaurant, we grabbed some food through the drive-thru and settled on a picnic bench in a peaceful park with huge trees and a river flowing beneath the old covered bridge. It was a tranquil, lovely summer day.

And my kids continue to mention it every summer.

So, a simple picnic is a must. We've done this lots of times now. Usually, it's at a park with a walking path of sorts, so we'll eat our food on a bench or a table if there's one or we'll grab a blanket from the car and settle on the grass. After we're done eating, we talk a walk and enjoy nature.

I always look forward to summer because the kids are home from school. We don't have all the homework or tests to study for. Everyone can relax and just enjoy life.

Happy Reading!

~Tricia

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A Bad Mom? A Perfect Mom? Or Just a Mom?

Late last night, I decided to watch Bad Moms. My neighbor had mentioned it to me, so I decided to watch it after the kids went to bed. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, here's a little description I snagged from IMDB since I'll be referencing the movie in my post.

Amy has a seemingly perfect life - a great, marriage, over-achieving kids, a beautiful home and a career. However, she's overworked, over-committed and exhausted to the point that she's about to snap. Fed up, she joins forces with two other over-stressed moms on a quest to liberate themselves from conventional responsibilities - going on a wild, un-mom-like binge of long overdue freedom, fun and self-indulgence - putting them on a collision course with PTA Queen Bee Gwendolyn and her clique of devoted perfect moms.

If you're a mom, hell, even if you're a dad ... no, especially if you're a dad, you should see this movie! For some of you dads, this might help you figure out what your wives are going through.

I was amused, relieved and saddened to share so many similarities with these women. As a mom of four kids between the ages of 3 and 12, I try and try and try to do the best that I can for them. I shuttle them to activities including baseball, bowling, swimming lessons, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, band, chorus, among other things that I can't think of right now.

Not to mention the many school meetings with teachers, the doctors appointments (because I have 4 kids and during the school year there's at least one kid sick every week!), plus picking them up and dropping them off at school every day.

And then every night of the week there is homework and dinner to prepare and whatever activity is going on and then before you know it there's the hour and a half long process of rounding up the children to get them to brush their teeth and get ready for bed. And on top of all that, I read bedtime stories to the little ones each night, too. Oh, yeah, and I'm a full-time writer and I do volunteer work, too! Besides, shuttling my kids to their meetings, I have Committee Meetings of my own to attend.  

I'm seriously exhausted just writing all that. But, I've been exhausted since the day I came home from the hospital with my eldest son 12 years ago. Between the sleepless nights and busy days at work, I barely manage to keep my wits about me. I've never had much support from my husband. I won't get into all the reasons and neglect I've suffered from him, but let's just say that I could totally relate to Kiki's character in the movie. Out of all of the moms, she is the most similar to me. It was a normal thing for me to say to my friends that I was a married single mom.

Now, I can officially say, I'm a single mom with four kids. Frankly, I was tired of calling my husband my fifth child, the one who wouldn't listen to me. 

But, Amy's character struck a chord with me. I'm constantly running late to everything, mostly because one of my kids can't find their shoes. My daughter insists on wearing clothes that don't match to school and hates brushing her hair. My oldest son suddenly thinks he's Mister Fix-It and decides to drill holes and nail things together in the house. My other son steals my chocolate, even when I hide it! And my youngest son freaks out if I don't have Boss Baby or Harry Potter on the television at some point everyday.

It's a fight every day to get them to brush their teeth. My kids can also go from being the best of friends during playtime to mortal enemies out for blood within seconds. My house is either filled with the screaming of laughter or the shrieking of someone pulling someone else's hair... or worse yet, because one of them looked at another one. 

Yes, there are days that I sit in my soccer mom minivan and cry in the school parking lot. I think I must be the worst mom ever because even for as much as I do for my children, I still can't do everything. I'm just one person. One person, on my own, without any family support. There are so many days, when I just can't understand how I can keep going.

And, yet, I do. Because I have to. I don't have the option of walking away. I don't have the option of quitting being a mom. But, even if I did have that option of quitting, would I do that? How could I? Could I ever just walk away from my kids?

Nope. 

I love my kids more than my own life. They are my heart and soul. I never understood what love truly was until I had my first baby. My grandmother used to say that there is nothing like the love between a mother and her child. I discovered on the day he was born that my grandmother was absolutely right. And for each baby after that, my love continued to grow. My heart expanded to include each one of my precious darlings. There is really nothing else like it. 

So, even if I can't do everything for my kids, even if I don't have the money to buy them every thing their little hearts desire, like the newest Playstation system or Barbie doll house, I'll keep doing what I can do for them. Making them smile. Making them laugh. Loving them. Giving them hugs and kissing their boo-boos when they stumble and fall. Wiping away their tears. Teaching them to become good people and make good decisions. Life is tough and it's okay to get knocked down every once in a while, but then you dust yourself off and pick yourself back up. And despite all the things that can go wrong in life, it's important to keep chasing after your dreams. 

Am I a Bad Mom?

Maybe. Some days. I'm certainly not a Perfect Mom. Yeah, I see those moms at the PTA fundraisers and Scout meetings who have the perfect husbands, the perfect house and their perfect kids, but I suspect it's not really like that. It's a picture that they present to the world. Gwendolyn seemed perfect, too, until she revealed what her life was really like in the end. For a lot of moms, we strive for perfection and when we realize that we can't achieve it, well, then we just fake it. We keep pretending so that other moms don't discover what a fake we've become. An imposter. Because despite it all, we can't be a Perfect Mom.

There's no such thing. 

We're Moms. 

That's it. 

Just Moms. Doing the best that we can do for our kids and keeping our fingers crossed and hoping that one day we'll get it right and everything will work out and our children will become decent human beings that become brilliant scientists who fix global warming, or doctors that find the cure for cancer, or politicians that bring about world peace.

Oh, wait... Is that just me?  

A Year of Harry Potter

I have a confession to make. For the longest time, I did not like Harry Potter.

I can hear the gasps of horror from Potter fans all over the world. Trust me, this is the reaction I've received for many years. Let me explain my irritation with The Boy Who Lived.

I worked at Waldenbooks during the HP phenomenon when fans went crazy with passion to read each new book release. Do you remember stores opening at midnight to greet lines of customers who had camped out (yes, camped out!) on the sidewalks to await Release Day? Were you one of them?

From a bookseller's viewpoint, it was both glorious and overwhelming to have so many customers clamoring for these books. Over time, however, it simply wore me out. Customers kept calling and asking about the newest HP book. Preorders were recorded in a huge binder for months before the release date. Each and every customer had to be called as a reminder. Shipments kept arriving week after week filling our tiny backroom until we could barely reach the bathroom. We needed to co-ordinate with mall security on release day to control the crowds of people. Our entire staff needed to work that day (no exceptions!) to assist all the people who couldn't wait a moment longer to read what happens next to Harry Potter. We had meetings to discuss and plan events for the big day. And, then, after unpacking hundreds (dare I say thousands?) of these books, we had to find floor space in our small mall-based store. I grew weary of hearing Harry's name.

Every single day.

For years!

Frankly, I didn't understand the appeal of these books. Our staff was required to read the first chapter of Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone so that we might have knowledge to chat about and sell these books to our customers. Honestly, I was unimpressed with J.K. Rowling's writing. I'd seen better writing. A lot better. Being in my early 20's, I had moved on in my reading choices and it wasn't a genre I was interested in at the time. Also, I was studying the writing craft and I had become critical and choosy about the books I read. That first chapter did not entice me to read more.

But, I continued my job, chatting with customers about this magical world and the witches and wizards who lived there. From these conversations, I grew to understand the stories, the characters, the plots and settings. Still, wasn't interested though.

Of all people, my husband (then boyfriend) jumped eagerly onto the Harry Potter bandwagon. He bought the books and devoured them, sometimes in only a day or two! This is a man who at that time only read Stephen King books.

Then the movies were released. At that time, my husband and I spent each Friday with our best friends for movie nights. I was out-voted and forced to watch the HP movies. Thankfully, Alan Rickman, made this endurable by far. If he didn't play in the movies, I'd really have had no reason to watch them. Alan Rickman was and remains to this day one of my favorite actors. And I loved his portrayal of Professor Snape. I loved him being a bad guy! He really played bad guys wonderfully!

And then Gary Oldman was cast as Sirius Black. Another of my favorite actors! And to my pleasure, David Thewlis played a werewolf. Now, we're talking! Werewolves are a weakness of mine. Suddenly, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban became one of my favorite movies. Although, I wouldn't admit so to my husband who kept trying to turn me into a HP fan. Still, I refused to read the books.

Fast forward, many years later. My husband and I now had children and they were reaching the age that they'd become interested in these Harry Potter movies. I would read books to my kids at night, and one night my oldest asked me to read Harry Potter.

Being a book lover, how could I say no to my son? And HP was a kid's book, after all.

So, I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone to my 2 young boys.

And, I hated it.

Yeah, I finished the entire first book and was still completely unimpressed with J.K. Rowling's writing. How in the world did this woman get published? She's addicted to adverbs! I kept hearing Stephen King's writing advice in my brains talking about adverbs. It was difficult to read. I got half-way through Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets until I just couldn't take anymore and stopped reading. My boys didn't ask for anymore, so I moved on to reading other books to them.

Fast forward again to March 2017.

Now, I have 4 children between the ages of 1 and 10. I was singing lullabies and reading Goodnight Moon to get my youngest to go to sleep at night.  After several, several, several weeks of reading Goodnight Moon every night, I asked the kids to suggest a new book to read. One of them suggested Harry Potter.

I groaned. Not again.

But, I was out-voted, so I reluctantly picked up the books. Every night I read a chapter from The Sorcerer's Stone. Again, I found the adverbs grating my nerves. However, I found a new determination to read at least until Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. This has remained my favorite HP movie and I was curious to see how the story was handled in the book. After all, the books are inevitably better than the movies, and I wanted to read more about Sirius Black.

We finished the first book, and I made it through the second. Finally, I figured I could finish with the third. That was as far as I was willing to go.

But, something happened.

I don't know how, or exactly when (probably with the third book), I began to enjoy reading about Harry Potter. Actually, I was slightly disappointed with myself. After all these years of finding The Boy Who Lived irritating, I was starting to get interested in the books.

After we finished reading The Prisoner of Azkaban, I asked my kids if we should continue with the series or take a break from HP and move onto other books. Here I was out-voted (I should be getting used to this), so we continued with Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. The ending of that book is probably what clinched it for me. The resurrection of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was a powerfully gripping scene. Adverbs aside, that scene was good! Page-turning, suspenseful, exciting, and scary!

Okay, so it took JK Rowling about 4 books to make me a fan. After that, I was eager to keep reading to my kids, even after my youngest had already fallen asleep at night, I just kept reading to the older kids. Now, its became our bedtime routine for all of us to gather round the rocking chair after pajamas and teeth brushing are finished so I can read the next chapter. And that's how we continued our nights from March until October. This is actually the first time that I can recall that I read an entire series back-to-back. Most times, I take a break in between reading books in a series.

What made reading these books even more enjoyable was the conversations I had with my children during those nights, too. They already knew I loved Professor Snape, but they couldn't understand why. They hated Snape. He was the bad guy! From watching the movies to the conclusion, I knew what to expect of Snape's character, so I kept quiet. Spoilers! My younger two kids had never even seen any the HP movies, and my older two had watched them when they were so young that they didn't remember much.

So, after completing each book from the series, my kids and I would watch the corresponding movie with a great big bowl of buttered popcorn and then compare the differences between the books and the movies. We'd talk about character and plot development. They'd tell me their favorite parts and the characters they liked or didn't like. Our discussions would sometimes take up our reading time at night.

And, now our year (or almost) of reading Harry Potter has come to an end. We finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows last week. We watched the Part 1 movie last weekend and have the Part 2 planned for this coming weekend. And then we're done.

To my amazement, I'm sad that we've finished. I want to read more! I enjoyed reading and living in the wizarding world so much that I feel bittersweet about finishing the books. Finally, after all these years (decades?) since my days of selling HP books, I now understand why my customers were clamoring for more. Writing style notwithstanding, these stories are good! Page-turning. Addicting. The story is the appeal. Not the writing style (adverbs!).

I'm now a Harry Potter fan. Yes, I admit it. But, I can honestly say that I never would have read these books if not for my children. I read them because they asked me to. I owe them!

Our Harry Potter year is finished, but our reading is not. We've established a routine that, frankly, I enjoy. I'm reluctant to end that, so this week we started reading a new book. I pulled together a list of possibilities, books that I loved to read when I was a kid. So many books on my list, but again, I let my kids vote.

They've chosen The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.

My children are awesome! 

Are you a Harry Potter fan? What do you think of the books? Do you have a favorite? How about a favorite character? 

As always,

Happy Reading!

Tricia

Summer Writing Blues #AuthorUpdate #amwriting

Summer is in full swing! Many of you are currently on vacation or have plans for a nice summer escape whether its traveling somewhere or staying at home to simply turn the pages of a good book. Or maybe both!

My favorite part of summer is lounging outside on a comfy porch swing and reading the day away. Honestly, though, I haven't had much opportunity for such luxuries. My kids are keeping me rather busy this summer. Busier than most other summers.

And, oh, how my writing has suffered as a result! I barely wrote a word for the entire month of June! It's been constant chaos and noise (varying from laughter to crying, depending on which of my  children are getting along and which are fighting). I have 4 children (ages 2, 6, 9, & 11). Then there's swimming lessons, kid's craft workshops, Scouting activities, trips to the library and local museums and summer camps. I'm also working with my oldest this summer to prepare him for the upcoming school year. Last year, he struggled with his grades and I don't want him to suffer the summer slide that the teachers tell me often happens to students during vacation.

Needless to say, my typical writing during the baby's nap time schedule has gone with the summer wind. I resorted to writing at night again, after the kids go to bed, but I continue to struggle with this time frame since I tend to fall asleep early. Really, I love them dearly, but my kids exhaust me! Since writing at night isn't working to my liking, my next option is negotiating with them.




Maybe this will work...

"If Mommy doesn't get any writing time, 

then kids don't get any PlayStation time."

I haven't dared implement this...yet. It's my secret weapon. I'm still trying to figure out which part of the day I'm going to squeeze in a writing hour or two before I make my demands.

Also, to encourage me to buckle down and make this work, I've joined Camp NaNo. With the summer Nano, I can choose my own word count goal to suit my needs and change it as I see fit. I can also choose my own type of writing project. I've started a new novel. Realistically, I know that I won't be able to churn out 50k so I've shaved that in half for a goal of 25k this month. I'm hoping that will give me a nice chunk to begin and I can continue on in August.

I did well enough last week. This week, I've faltered. The Summer Writing Blues hit.

No time. No quiet. No escape. 

However, I know I won't give up. I've tried to in the past, it just doesn't stick. So, I'll figure it out. It might take me all summer, but I'll find my precious writing time. Even if I have to resort taking 5 to 15 minute sprints I used to write when my two oldest boys were toddlers.

I'll make it work. 

That's what writers do. 

Happy Reading!

Tricia

Where I've Been and Where You Can Find Me #AuthorUpdate

The last several months have been busy for this intrepid writer. But, not with writing related activities. I've taken a break from my hectic writing schedule to tend to my family. This winter has been hard on us. Every week for the last few months I've had at least one child out of four to see the doctor. We've had a wide range of illness this year including the flu, strep throat, bronchitis, croup, and several nasty ear infections to name a few. We've also had our share of injuries. My 2 year-old tripped and fell, biting almost clean through his bottom lip. My 6 year-old got a paper cut on her eyeball! Yes, on her eyeball! And my 11 year-old has developed an enormous chip on his shoulder that I believe might need to be surgically removed. More likely, I'll need to wait it out, but I dread the approaching teen years with this kid!

As Spring blossoms in the air, the children are finished with sick days and back in school struggling to stay focused as the end of the school year approaches. And as much as I looked forward to Spring, I realize that my schedule hasn't gotten quite back on track, yet. Now, my 9 year-old has baseball practices and games nearly every night of the week. There's also Cub Scout and Boy Scout meetings for the boys, with the additional Committee meetings of which I am a member. The kids also have music and art lessons. Camping trips and bowling lessons. And homework! There is an immense amount of homework each night! I feel like I've gone back to school trying to relearn math to help my kids understand it. 

Add to that a bad case of Spring allergies! I'm sneezing my way through edits as we speak.

Never fear! I am nothing if not stubborn. I haven't given up, even if it might seem that I disappear from time to time. I eventually pop back up. Right now, I'm struggling to catch up with edits and emails. Not to mention a host of new calls for submission that have come to my attention which are brewing new story ideas in my brain that I'm eager to write. My toddler is fighting naptimes, now. This is a new development, but I'm hoping it's just a phase. I've tried explaining to him that naptimes are my writing times, but he's not impressed. Instead, he smiles and laughs, then points at the television and says, "Doctor Who."

With that being said, where can you find me these days?

 

I'm still checking in at my old haunts at Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads. Pinterest has helped keep me sane this winter with some great ideas for knitting and crocheting crafts while I sat with my sick kids during those days we binged on Supernatural. I'm planning to post some of my completed craft projects soon. I'm roasting marshmallows with the campers at Camp Nano to complete a short story for a possible anthology. I've joined Reading Alley where my new book, The Pirate's Lady, is available for review. Other than that, you can subscribe to my newsletter to keep updated with my new projects, contests and events. And, of course, I'll be posting more on my blog again, so I hope to see you here, too!

                                    

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Here's wishing all is well with you!

Happy Spring!

Tricia

Class Field Trip to Junie B. Jones

A few weeks ago my 8 y/o son's teacher asked if I could chaperone the school field trip. I've never had the chance to chaperone any of his previous field trips because I was either in the hospital giving birth or at home with a baby and no available babysitter. This year, I happened to find a babysitter for my toddler, so I had no problem with telling his teacher I would be happy to chaperone.

We went to see a play at a theater in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It was Junie B. Jones. I've never read the books, but I know a lot about them from working at Waldenbooks for so many years. I've sold countless Barbara Park books to customers in my area.




As popular as the books are with children, I wondered how much they would enjoy watching a play. In my opinion, these kids might be bored by something like this. I recall my 10th grade English class field trip to see Shakespeare's MacBeth. As much as I enjoyed Shakespeare, the play put me to sleep. Yes, I fell asleep, along with at least two or three other kids sitting in my row. And I was a teenager then, actually interested in literature and story-telling in all forms.
 
My concerns were unfounded. The actors were silly and fun and got great laughs from the audience. The songs were catchy and the kids clapped along. They genuinely seemed to enjoy the play. Even the boys, who I thought might fidget in their seats from boredom. My son said this was the best field trip ever! Not just because of the play (he was singing the songs at home that evening), but because I went with him. He said he was so happy I was there. I'm just pleased he's still at an age where he wants to be seen with me! But, it was a sweet memory that I'm so glad to give him.

I hope I can chaperone another field trip, for each of my kids, but I'll tell you one thing...I'm bringing tylenol for the bus ride! That I didn't enjoy so much. First, I got a little motion-sick from the swaying of the bus on the highway (the driver drove a little too fast in my opinion!) and the kids were loud. Really loud! It's no wonder my son doesn't seem to hear me at home. I'm wondering if there's some sort of hearing damage from riding on the bus!

Other than that, the trip was enjoyable and the kids in his class were well-behaved and very sweet. Although, it worries me that two of the girls in his class told me when he wasn't looking that they thought my son was cute.

Oh, boy.

Does that start already? 

Mother is a Beautiful Word

I never really thought about a favorite word until I had children. Mama was the first word each of my children spoke (much to the dismay of my husband who diligently practiced saying 'Dada' to them each day). Their sweet voices calling 'mama' is a sound that will remain forever in my heart.

Even as they grow, and 'Mama' has changed to 'Mommy' and then to 'Mom', each variation holds it's own beauty. Mother is a beautiful word. It holds such power and meaning. My children are my life. They are each a part of me. My body held them, protected them, nourished them. They were born carrying a bit of my heart and soul. After I am gone from this world, my heart will continue to beat in each of theirs.

Never in my life (until 7 years ago!) did I ever imagine I might be a mother. Such a thing was beyond belief. First of all, I feared pain. How could I ever bear the brutality of childbirth? Oh, I've heard the stories. My grandmother glories in describing her three days of gruesome labor during my own mother's birth. Of course, now they have drugs to alleviate the pain, but even then I knew I would not follow that path.

The birth of my firstborn was different than I had ever imagined. It was beautiful. It was 20 hours of waiting for his arrival, focusing on my precious joy instead of the pain, feeling the ghostly presence of my mother at my side holding my hand, the doctor's arrival and stunned surprise to learn that I had refused any drugs. I listened to my baby's heartbeat on the monitors with all the wires taped across my swollen belly. Even as they hurried me into surgery, to bring my son into the world via c-section because of complications, I marveled at the wonder of it all. And when the doctor lifted my 9 lb 5oz child from my womb, I saw the most beautiful baby in the world. I cried at his beauty. At the miracle that my body had created such a perfect creature.

Now, 7 years and 2 more children later, I still recall each of their births with such clarity that I hope never to forget. I have 3 favorite days of the year, 3 days that I celebrate as the most wondrous days in my world. The birthdays of each of my children.

On my own birthday, I think of my mother. Was my birthday one of her favorite days? Did she remember the first time she held me after many hours of labor to bring me into the world? Did she remember with crystal clarity the moment the doctor placed me in her arms and she first looked upon me? Did she cry as I did at the first sight of her baby?

Mom and me

As I've become a mother, I feel closer to my own, even though she's no longer with me. I understand her more now than I ever could before. And as I love the sound of my children calling me 'Mommy' I also love the sound of 'Mom' falling from my lips as I call to her.

And as the word 'mother' holds such meaning to me now, more than ever before, I also realize I have two other favorite words that rival that. Two more words that until a few years ago, I thought never to hold any meaning to me.

Son and Daughter.