Tag Archives: birthdays–MY BIRTHDAY!

Dreary Monday

However, I’m excited! Today will be my first day writing in my brand new office chair.

With a ten year warranty.

I can now say Books Written BC and AC.

 

Yesterday was my birthday.

My girls gave me this new chair, a container of sand from FL and a PERFECT shell found in the ocean, an expensive pillow, a sweet trinket, lamp shades for some rockin’ garage sales lamps I found a few years back (3 bucks a piece), and something that may arrive today.

I didn’t ask for the chair, which I needed most of all.

They could see what the old one had done to me, physically. And they heard about it. Finally I pulled in a kitchen chair, but the damage was already done.

Saturday night they surprised me with this gift.

 

Here’s what most important about this. Now in control of their gift-giving (and they have been for years), they paid attention and got me something that I needed.

 

While I am so grateful to be divorced, it’s hard to not have a partner, to always carry the burden. I’m always worried about money, about my children, about my friends, about deadlines.

And I’m lonely, sad, overworked and underpaid, lots of times heartbroken. The feel-sorry-for-myself-list goes on forever. I would have never purchased this for myself.

(It’s so huge and comfortable and soft. AND leather!)

 

I haven’t been this touched by a gift in, maybe, forever.

People listened to me with their hearts.

My girls did.

After they gave me the chair, I felt a little less lonely.

 

I could relate this to writing and talk about what’s important to your character and how does she feel now and how is she changed. I could ask about her family and her relationships and ask what does she need. But I’m not going to. I’m going to say I’m changed because my girls listened and because this gift showed me they love me. I’ve kinda needed this.

 

Thank you Carolina, Elise, Laura, Kyra and Caitlynne.

Thank you for caring.

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Filed under Character

Monday, Monday

So last week my computer crashed.

That means we didn’t have two or three days of blog.

 

If I post today, it means I was able to make my laptop do its job.

 

So, I have been thinking about several things.

Yes, it was my birthday.

And I received two very nice cards. One card that brought tears to my eyes.

And that card made me think even harder.

About all kinds of things.

 

Like my family and my writing and my attitude.

Yes! I know it! No one has to tell me I have a bad attitude.

Plus the other crummy things about me (that I try to keep hidden but unfortunately my poor girls have to deal with).

 

So, the deal is I have just under a year before I have another birthday and I want to work like crazy to see if I can be a better person. Better on the inside and on the outside. Better in my health, and better in my thoughts. Better at the way I look at things.

 

I once went to a therapist. (Okay, I went more than once.) And I told her I have really bad luck. And she said, no, my bad luck was all in my head. Then she saw me on the news after a freak accident and said to me, I guess you do have bad luck.

 

But I have wondered if I bring that bad luck on me because of my stinky attitude.

 

So I want to work on that, too. I invite anyone to join me.

Because part of my change is looking at myself more professionally. If I do, maybe I’ll start making money as a writer. You know, enough to live on so I can quit worrying.

 

Here are my writing goals for October:

1. Write daily. Write 1000-2500 words per day.

2. Finish a rough draft of my funny ghost novel.

3. Try to write an outline for two other novels. Not a deep outline like J. Scott Savage does (http://jscottsavage.blogspot.com). Just something loose that gives me ideas and direction.

4. Get all the conference stuff done in October so we can go live with the website on January 1, 2014.

 

Please share your goals or thoughts or dreams or whatever.

We still have to  think and plan for November and NaNoWriMo.

And after that, we have February when we will write our romance novels.

Then we’ll all be rolling with the homies.

 

PS I tried to send this and did it wrong so this post may be floating out there in WordPress land. 🙂

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Filed under Ann Dee, CLW