Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

Well, January was fun! If the rest of the year goes along as January did, I'll not be sad. Monday my youngest turned 19. While memories of the day he was born have blurred around the edges, I still remember being in the delivery room, way beyond ready to give birth to the little guy who was nearly two weeks overdue, and feeling incredible relief once the ordeal ended. This guy came into the world at ten pounds nine ounces. A big boy. My doctor had estimated him in the nine pound range before all the action began, so I decided to go with a natural childbirth since I'd delivered Funny Delightful Son naturally, and he'd weighed in at just over nine pounds. I figured I could do it again. I did, but it wasn't fun by any stretch of the imagination. Thankfully, all turned out just fine, and that big boy is now a tall, lanky young man who can't get enough to eat. The four of us went out to eat for Angel Baby's birthday dinner. He absolutely hates going anywhere that...

My year of embracing opportunity continues! Today I said yes to the Museum of Science and Industry, an early dinner at a hole-in-the-wall near the University of Chicago (the food was great), a trip to a 57th Street Books, and a jaunt through a bit of Chinatown. Just when I didn't think the day could get any better, I scratched off the last number on a $3 ticket I bought when I paid for a lucky cat I found for Funny Delightful Son. The image of a money bag appeared, and underneath it was $100. The. Last. Scratch. I very seldom buy lotto tickets, and each time I do I never win anything. Hence the not buying tickets. This win was that cherry on top of the whipped cream of a wonderful day, one that I'll savor for a long time. At the museum, the first exhibit we visited was the U-505 submarine. We walked through and were given a close-up of what life was like on the sub. At one point, our tour leader played a tape of what it would have been like to be on the sub and hear d...

My husband tried to guilt me into going to dinner with him this evening. I stood my ground, though, and politely declined. The invitation came via text, asking me if I'd like to join him for an evening I would regret. Seriously? Why in the world would anyone say yes to an invitation like this? I replied, basically asking why would I do this to myself? Then I said thank you for the invite, but no. The next text suggested I needed to have dinner with him for his health. Wow. My response was just, "Nice." He replied by saying, okay, it was for his mental health. Again, wow. I didn't respond to his last text. I figured I was only going to continue receiving texts designed to make me feel guilty. I refuse to take on that burden. When my husband brought Ado home after having him over for the day, he asked me again to go to dinner with him. I said no. He went on to bring up the communique he has received from the hospital so far, which hasn't included any bills y...

Well, the feedback on my first erotic short story was positive. I was told my steamy sex scene was quite brave and forthright. Overall, the readers enjoyed it and thought the story holds a lot of promise. I went in and made the suggested changes, which were definitely what the story needed, and now it's up for another round of critique. Who knows, maybe I have a new career in front of me! I've realized one effect from my sabbatical is how all I think about now is writing. For years I pined for time to write. I tried several times to set aside an hour here or an hour there just for writing. I got up at 4:30 am several years ago, to write before heading off to work. When that fizzled out after two weeks (I absolutely hate, hate, hate getting up before six am), I changed my writing hour to 9:00 pm. That didn't work out because I was always so tired after a long day of work, the kids' activities, and other things going on. The writing was hit and miss for many, many years...

I wrote my first ever erotica short story. And let me tell you, writing erotica -- good erotica (at least my hope is my attempt is good) -- is not easy. I sat in this chair, at this computer, for nearly ten hours making sure the one lengthy sex scene in the story didn't come off as cheesy, silly, or over-the-top. My desire was that the scene was sweet, rang true, and showed two people who knew each other's wants and needs. I guess you could say I was going for tasteful (if that is even possible in the world of erotica). Now the story is in the hands of those who will critique it. I did ask that they be gentle since this is my first time. As I was working on the story, Funny Delightful Son came in to chat. He asked me what I was doing, and at that particular moment, I was reading a page about the female anatomy, complete with images and labels. I pointed to it and explained what I was doing. FDS laughed and said, "Okay. Glad I asked." "It's for another c...

I defied the weather forecast today and rode my bike to work! And I got rained on during my ride home. But I really didn't mind. Instead, I remembered the day on the Pacific coast ride when it was rainy, foggy, and cold, and I had no hat, no gloves, and no leggings. I was miserable. Until I caught up to a couple of the guys who had reached the little town where our first rest stop was scheduled. We were ahead of the van, so we found a small cafe to get coffee and warm up. The server, the person bussing the tables, and the chef treated us like royalty even though our mud-covered shorts left the chairs a mess, and our jackets dripped water all over the floor around the table. We were given kitchen towels to dry off with. Our coffee was refilled without once having to ask, and the server gave us a heads-up on cycling the road out of town, what to be careful of. When we left that cafe, each of us felt ready to tackle the next twenty or so miles and the sun was beginning to break ...

Back to work today. To be honest, I was totally ready to get back to the routine of designing the curriculum, teaching, figuring out how to get the writing center moving forward, and seeing all my friends. I've missed all of them very much. I saw them a couple of times during my leave, and we texted at times, but not seeing them on a daily basis created a hole in my life. They're wonderful people I am so glad are my friends. I did run into a problem first thing. I turned on my computer and began working on a document only to have Word crash on me every single time I opened the document. I tried other documents. I tried creating new documents, but each time, Word closed out on me after about five seconds of being up on the monitor. This is really weird to me since my computer was off the entire time I was gone. What could possibly have happened to the program while the computer was off for seven months? Thankfully, I can work from home tomorrow, doing all my Word doc work from...

My husband had a heart attack a few days ago. I was sitting here at my computer, working on a new piece I've been tinkering with for a week or so when he called. Do you have a car? he asked. Yes. Why? I think I'm having a heart attack. He described the symptoms further. I'll be there in a few minutes, I said. I drove over then took him to the ER. As soon as they hooked him up to the machine, a code STEMI went out to the rest of the hospital. Lots of people showed up at his room, even the Chaplain. The staff worked quickly and efficiently to prep him to go to the cath lab. One of the nurses explained to me what was going to happen, and the cardiologist came in not long after we arrived to further explain how things were going to go. Right before they wheeled him to the cath lab, Lovely Beautiful Daughter and Angel Baby showed up. The three of us walked with him as far as we were allowed to go; then we went to the waiting room. About an hour later, the cardiol...

My first Don't Squander Opportunities came last evening at a get-together with friends. Smoked oysters. Eat one, my friend said. They'll bring good luck. So I stabbed a toothpick into a dark brown blob of flesh piled on a plate and plopped it into my mouth. The smokey flavor spread over my tongue and the roof of my mouth. The texture was soft, like a piece of smoked fish. I savored every second of the delicacy. Yummm, I said. I enjoy most seafoods, and the smoked oyster was yet another like to add to the list. My friend, in my phone contacts as Princess Leia because of her affinity for all things Star Wars , however, after very, very hesitantly biting just a small piece off an oyster, grimaced and spit out most of what she could. I wonder if the real Princess Leia would have reacted that way to smoked oysters. I kind of think she would have eaten them with gusto. Cricket sucker, anyone? And my second Don't Squander Opportunities happened as a result of me being ...

Happy New Year! I love the promise that always swirls with the coming of the new year. All the possibilities stretching out before me. The older I get, the more I wish I had really tended to each year's possibilities and nurtured them fully, not just for the month of January. Thinking about what slipped by the wayside, what became lost in the everyday shuffle of life, makes me sad. But I have another opportunity. 2018 is rolled out like a red carpet in front of me, and today, here at the starting line, a neon sign is blinking: Don't Squander Opportunities! Last year my mantra was Persistence. I truly feel like I did persist in many different areas of my life and I feel stronger, more confident. Each time I said, "No," and each time I went with my gut instinct on an issue, the taller I stood, the calmer I became, and the more convinced I felt that the direction my life had veered is the right direction. This year, my mantra is Don't Squander Opportunities....