Too Busy to Breathe

I got another one of those pointed emails from the Best Friend the other day - haven't seen the blog in a while, what's going on with you?

As an old friend of mine used to say, I'm busier than a one-legged man in a butt kicking contest.

Fortunately, at this point, I am winning. At least, I'm ahead.

Shall I encapsulate the events in my life over the past couple of weeks since I've graced the Lunch Room with the presence of its owner?

Okay, you asked for it ...

Orthodontia. Little Bit, the last Mohican, got her braces off yesterday. We now have three children with beautiful, orthodontically enhanced smiles, courtesy of the brilliant and talented orthodontist whose child is at the best Ivy League school in the country, courtesy of our checkbook. If you get that, you have had a child in braces.

Southern Festival of Books. The weekend is finally upon us. This Friday, Saturday and Sunday I will once again fall off the face of the earth (but really, you should be used to it by now) to mix and mingle with thousands upon thousands of book lovers from all over, teeming crowds filling the streets and venues of downtown Nashville.

This is called fun.

Really. See, for those of you who know me, you know how much I hate crowds. Hate. Them.

But Southern Festival is something big and vibrant and fun - it's my element, so to speak. I get around the crowds by concentrating on the fact that I am there for one reason and one reason only - to celebrate the written word. Which, conveniently enough, is the theme of the Festival. If you've never been, and you live here, you should go. It's amazing.

I'm sure I've mentioned this, but Sisters in Crime is hosting three fabulous panels this year, two in cahoots with the Killer Year bunch - my Wonder Twin helping organize things, of course - and one featuring our very own local author members (plus Joanie, but she's an honorary member anyway). And, we'll have our very own exhibitor's booth on the Plaza itself, promoting the heck out of Sisters in Crime. There you go, first plug of the weekend, and the weekend's not even here yet.

I'm going to be exhausted and glad when it's over, but that's certainly not going to keep me from enjoying myself because it's going to be great. More than great. Phenomenal. I'll give you a report when I come up for air. I might even take pictures - what a concept!

The Book. Through all this craziness of getting ready for SFB, I have [gasp!] been working on the manuscript. We're still in the throes of the major rewrite, but the first half is down and done. I'm hoping to have it finished in time to get it to JT so she can give it a quick read-through before she gets back into the swing of her own rewrite. The Wonder Twins are busy little writers these days - as are the rest of our BMWs writers' group, that talented bunch of lovely women we are so fortunate to call our own. Go, us!

The Parenting Thing. Yeah, that too. We've been through an incident in The Tall One's dorm (breathe, it's okay - she wasn't involved), band fiascos (again, my child - not involved), and growing pains. Being a mother on top of everything else isn't a burden, it's a joy. What keeps me sane.

Really.

Gotta get back to the butt kicking contest now. Thanks for sticking with me and for checking to make sure I'm still around. I'm here, lurking in the shadows. Watching.

Read a book. There are several on the shelf if you want to peruse ...

See you soon.

=) JB