You Can't Make This Stuff Up

I went to Pennsylvania this past weekend for a workshop, which I will blog about in depth sometime in November for Two Writing Teachers. It was an amazing trip, made even better when I sat down with Lindsay Barrett George, Lucy Staugler and Lori Nichols (new friends)! We decided to go to dinner at a place called The Halfway House. It had a worn but cozy interior and we sat down. Moments later we were greeted by Suzie, our waitress.

"How ya doin' tonight? Did you see the specials? Here's the board, I'll leave it right here." Okay, so this might not seem odd, but she propped the specials board up on the table next to us, where people were in the middle of eating. However, they didn't seem to mind one bit.

We continued our conversation and took a look at the specials. We also found out that Suzie is not a fan of the clam chowder and that it was at the bottom of the barrel, so "stay away from that one."
It continued on. She relayed that it is a dangerous time of year to be on the roads because everyone is looking at the beautiful colors and she often finds that she is in the wrong lane.

Then we wanted our picture taken, with Suzie. Which meant that Vera's assistance was needed, another waitress in the restaurant. Vera came over, holding Lucy's phone backwards, squinting, looking it all over, "Well, what do I do with this?" Suzie gave her step-by-step directions on how to hold the camera phone. Vera followed along and began to take a picture of Suzie, Lindsay and Lucy. However, Lori and I were not in the picture.
Suzie said, "Uh, Vera, they want everybody in there!"
To which Vera said, "Well I got three of you!"

Vera, eventually, did get us all in the picture. However, it was after practically sitting in the lap of the person next to us. 

Starters with No Finish

Did you ever have a half dozen starters to a slice but nothing afterward? Here are my starters, maybe you can use one:

1. Sometimes I wonder...(Why did we buy a 16 foot top beam for the swing set, OY).
2. And now I wait...(Wrote an article, waiting for the editor to reply, but my editor is about to have twins, OY).
3. Where is this all going? (We have a pile the size of a small planet that needs to be removed from my driveway, NOW! OY).
4. When is that going to happen? (We need a new roof, but my husband is handy and is determined we will do it ourselves. Money saver yes, time saver, OY)!
5. Are you having trouble hearing me because it looks like you just did the opposite of what I said. (Yeah, it's summer and yeah, my kids are getting the best of me, and the worst of me, OY).
6. Let's plan a trip to...(We are planning a mystery trip for my kids, should be fun, I hope they love it. Someday I will have to tell you the story of the mystery trip my parents took my sister and I on, pretty epic...right Lori? Pretty sure she just said, OY).

#GULP

While I was at ALL WRITE!!! this past week, a conference in Warsaw, IN, I had a conversation with Donalyn Miller about starting a grown-up book club. It made me gulp a little at the thought of trying to find a book Donalyn Miller hasn't read already and the fact that I can't remember the last grown-up novel I read. Sad, I know. I constantly read blogs, articles and professional text with a middle grade or YA novel thrown in for good measure now and then. But a grown-up novel, well, it's been a while.
Then I had a conversation with Jen Serravallo about the book club idea and she loved my hashtag, #GULP, which stands for Grown-Up Literary People. She was interested too.
What now I thought. Am I really going to start a book club? Can I handle it? Well, summer is probably the best time to try it out and maybe if I get myself on a role with some nice novels I'll find that I really enjoy them again.
What is a recent novel you have read that might be a good book to start with? My friend Robin recommended The Light Between Oceans by Stedman. I know nothing about it, but it has great reviews, so that is a start. I'm taking nominations and members, so let me know!

Sick of the Sick

I feel like many of my posts the last few months have had to do with illness, heck, more than a few. Now it's my husband. At the beginning of the year it felt like I was never at school a full week because my children were taking turns being sick. Then the past few months I've been hit with illness on three occasions. It just seems to be making the rounds. Now it is my husband. When one of us is sick the daily duties of life get turned on their head.

Sick of the sick
the stuffy noses
the fevers
the stomach aches
the body aches
the head aches
the achy aches
sometimes
life just aches

A Slice

A slice
of time
a note
a rhyme
the passage
my message
of words
like vine

I listen
I learn
but turn
and yearn
for breaks
and wakes
of waves
to churn

In night
I ask
you're swift
you pass
me by
my eye
a shine
like brass

A wish
I blew
from me
to you
the seed
it flows
on breeze
of blue



Wondering what to write about, I just started typing words and a poem started to form. Then I began to get a little more intentional and revise a bit. It is still just a rough poem, but I was thinking in rhyme this evening and it just flowed. As I go back and reread it I wonder what it all means. What is my message? What am I trying to say? What can the waves teach me? Who is passing me and why am I blowing wishes their way? One begins to wonder when there is no rhyme or reason for a poem and yet there it is. What does it say about me?

Terrors of the Night

My son is nine going on ten. He has night terrors and tonight by far was the worst of them. It is like watching your most precious piece of china burst into a million pieces. Falling in every direction chaos ensues and you are helpless. There is no where to walk, you might cut your foot. The broom is on the other side of the room and you can't reach it. You become anxious wondering when you will be able to move again because you are paralyzed by shards. There is no moving from the moment. There is only chaos. Until light breaks in and you see a path. You walk it to find a clearing and all is right again, as though the china never broke. As though the moment never happened. And you begin to wonder, did it?

Day Six

I've been sick
day six today
a lot has been done
images made
writing completed
reading underway
with more to do
while the house falls apart
I walk through the piles
no one at fault
just life happening around me
energy bursts
then ceases
I guess I'll go back to sipping my Sprite.