It's been an odd couple of weeks. There was a family crisis and on several days I had to belt up and down the motorway between London and Wales -- a round trip of about 350 miles. On the Friday before Christmas, I came back in the early evening, and there was thick fog all the way. Once I got back into London, there was terrible traffic congestion, and I turned off the motorway to try to cut through to my home in the north of the city. It was almost impossible to recognise familiar roads. The fog was thick and greeny-yellow, reminiscent of the famous -- or notorious -- pea-soupers they used to have in Dicken's day. And the smell was terrible.
Anyhow, it's all cleared away now. I was working on Christmas day, but my family had kept me some food which I had at eleven at night. I really enjoyed it though!
I'm also working on New Year's Day, a shift which means getting up at 0530, so I don't think I'll be attending any wild parties the night before!
Thursday, December 28, 2006
How?
How did it happen... how did it get to get 2007? How did I get to be this 41yo woman who moans about the passage of time? How did I get to be the mother of a son who is almost 14 and at 5'9" towers over me? When did my 11yo daughter want a Dooney & Bourke bag and Uggs for xmas? At least my 5yo remains a baby still. I think I'm going to cling to her childhood, letting her make me feel young - that is, until I visit her kindergarten classroom and realize I'm one of the "older moms".
I'm doing a lot of reflecting right now. Wondering if I'm where I thought I'd be. Thinking about where I'd like to head. And wondering whether I'm happy with the person I am. I don't know what put me in this pensive mood, but I'm trying to shake it free. As my mom always told me - I'm dangerous when I'm thinking. lol
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Home for the Holidays in West Virginia
I know we have a couple Appalachian writers out there lurking. I'm not sure if I've outted myself as one before, but I'm doing it now. :) I grew up in the Harrison and Lewis County areas, graduated from highschool at Lewis Co. High, did six weeks of college in Athens WV and a year at Fairmont State before moving on to farther and wider reaches. I moved to Atlanta in 1999, then to Massachusetts in 2000, and only went home to visit mom twice between '99 and this year.
Anyway, now that I no longer live in Massachusetts, and the trip home isn't as harrying and/or expensive as it used to be; and now that I have a fiance to show off, and who wanted to meet the people he was marrying into, fiance and I went home to visit my mom for Christmas. We left Maryland (where I currently reside) on Sunday morning, and struck off across I-68, stopped in Cumberland for a fantastic lunch and wandering around. There was a bagpiper to serenade us because we arrived at lunch hour, and apparently there's always a bagpiper in downtown Cumberland at lunch hour. News to me.
When fiance and I got to Clarksburg (where my mom lives), we stopped at the hotel for check-in before heading off to meet mom. I left the driving directions in the room, though, but I figured I could find it. I knew she lived next door to, or behind, my grandfather, and I knew where HE lived. So that's where I went. Except I couldn't find the street name that was on the directions, and the street my grandfather lived on wasn't the same as the streetname my mother gave me for mapquest. I asked about a dozen people if they knew where Camden Street was, and nobody had the faintest clue. Oh, and did I mention that T-Mobile apparently has no service at all in West Virginia? Because it doesn't, and I was cell phone-less, and nothing was open, and I couldn't find my mommy. I went pounding on my grandfather's front door, getting more and more angry with him for not coming to the door, and finally found somebody with a cell phone who let me use it. Nearly in tears by the time I got ahold of my mother - who told me my grandfather didn't live in that neighborhood anymore, and hadn't for years. I felt ridiculous, almost 30 years old and couldn't find my mom.
The rest of the holiday was wonderful, though, once I found everybody! And on the drive home, I kept pointing out different houses set out in the middle of nowhere, gorgeous fields and views of valleys, and saying to my fiance, "I want to live in THAT house."
He finally said, "That would be nice, but I think we're too social of creatures to be happy there for long."
So I resigned myself to leaving the rural peace and quiet to Zinnia, and just visiting once in a while.
And now that I'm home, I can get on with the business of getting my e-book released. ;)
Anyway, now that I no longer live in Massachusetts, and the trip home isn't as harrying and/or expensive as it used to be; and now that I have a fiance to show off, and who wanted to meet the people he was marrying into, fiance and I went home to visit my mom for Christmas. We left Maryland (where I currently reside) on Sunday morning, and struck off across I-68, stopped in Cumberland for a fantastic lunch and wandering around. There was a bagpiper to serenade us because we arrived at lunch hour, and apparently there's always a bagpiper in downtown Cumberland at lunch hour. News to me.
When fiance and I got to Clarksburg (where my mom lives), we stopped at the hotel for check-in before heading off to meet mom. I left the driving directions in the room, though, but I figured I could find it. I knew she lived next door to, or behind, my grandfather, and I knew where HE lived. So that's where I went. Except I couldn't find the street name that was on the directions, and the street my grandfather lived on wasn't the same as the streetname my mother gave me for mapquest. I asked about a dozen people if they knew where Camden Street was, and nobody had the faintest clue. Oh, and did I mention that T-Mobile apparently has no service at all in West Virginia? Because it doesn't, and I was cell phone-less, and nothing was open, and I couldn't find my mommy. I went pounding on my grandfather's front door, getting more and more angry with him for not coming to the door, and finally found somebody with a cell phone who let me use it. Nearly in tears by the time I got ahold of my mother - who told me my grandfather didn't live in that neighborhood anymore, and hadn't for years. I felt ridiculous, almost 30 years old and couldn't find my mom.
The rest of the holiday was wonderful, though, once I found everybody! And on the drive home, I kept pointing out different houses set out in the middle of nowhere, gorgeous fields and views of valleys, and saying to my fiance, "I want to live in THAT house."
He finally said, "That would be nice, but I think we're too social of creatures to be happy there for long."
So I resigned myself to leaving the rural peace and quiet to Zinnia, and just visiting once in a while.
And now that I'm home, I can get on with the business of getting my e-book released. ;)
Monday, December 25, 2006
Welcome!
To the chatting authors of Freya's Bower. We come here to just shoot the breeze. No talk of business. Just fun. We'll share stories, maybe chat about writing issues, but primarily have fun.
My daughter is not quite two and a half. She's sort of starting to potty train. When I say "sort of", many of you who are parents know this, it's a start/stop process. She's used her "throne" three time. The other day, she was in the bathroom sitting on her throne to go pee. I was in the living room editing an MS when I heard this little voice yell, "I did it again!" She'd peed in her throne. LOL I cracked up. There was such glee and pride in her voice, I couldn't help but smile.
I can't wait to see her reaction tomorrow when she sees the presents from Santa in her stocking. Perhaps I will post some pictures of tomorrow.
Well, I hope everyone has a wonderful, peace-filled holiday!
Marci
My daughter is not quite two and a half. She's sort of starting to potty train. When I say "sort of", many of you who are parents know this, it's a start/stop process. She's used her "throne" three time. The other day, she was in the bathroom sitting on her throne to go pee. I was in the living room editing an MS when I heard this little voice yell, "I did it again!" She'd peed in her throne. LOL I cracked up. There was such glee and pride in her voice, I couldn't help but smile.
I can't wait to see her reaction tomorrow when she sees the presents from Santa in her stocking. Perhaps I will post some pictures of tomorrow.
Well, I hope everyone has a wonderful, peace-filled holiday!
Marci
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