I thought it would be nice to have a more lighthearted post today to contrast the last one. After all, life is full of both happy and sad moments, and you can't have one without the other, right?
The Project. We've lived in this house for just over 5 years now, and we finally decided that it needed a bit of an overhaul. So we're painting. Now, the WGH loves to paint about as much as I love to go shopping. Ranks right up there with cleaning up dog barf at midnight, having a root canal or having someone jab you in the eye with a sharp stick. But it needed to be done, and we're working on a room or two at a time. It's the same answer as the one to the question, "How do you eat an elephant?" (One bite at a time.)
So here we are in the paint department at Lowe's, looking at every Valspar Signature series color sample under the sun. I never knew there were so many different shades of green, beige and pink. We bring the little cards home, prop them up on the baseboards and door frames and spend some quality time with them until we find the color we like the best. After several trips, we finally found a combination we really like.
It's a work in progress. And the more I look at the parts that are finished, the more I love them. Sometimes you just need something fresh and new to perk yourself up. And what better way to do that than to spruce up your surroundings a bit? My study, sometime in the near future, is going to brighten up from this very neutral and *yawn* passive shade of beige to a gorgeous color called Oxford Pink. I know what you're thinking - ewwww, PINK???? But believe me, this color is luscious. It's warm and rosy and cozy and I can't wait to see it on my walls. The recliner and my writing desk chair are both of a rather burgundy-esque color (bought at two different places at two different times and they're almost identical - how lucky was that?), and the pink walls will be a perfect complement.
The part that I'm looking forward to the most is being able to sit in here and just soak up the positive energy and turn it into a blast of creativity. It's all about the chi, yes?
Work in Progress. The other thing I'm working on again is the manuscript - slowly but surely. My recent five-month break did not include much writing, so I'm back after it. Unfortunately, the day job takes up most of my days, so I'm relegated once again, as I was so many years ago when the kids were small ... er, young (have you SEEN my kids?), to working on the manuscript in the evenings. Thank God for DVR and a husband who finally caved and ordered the service. ;)
It's finished, for the most part. The story is down. It's just in the tweaking phase once again. I finally figured out what was bugging me so much about the story, that one little plot point that just wouldn't gel quite properly, and once I did that the edits seemed to just start flowing. I have a legal pad on the desk where I've jotted some editorial notes, things I need to fix overall, which I'll get to as soon as I'm through the first pass, taking care of notes from the BMWs (most of which I've discovered have already been done - I told you it's been a while since I've looked at this thing). But the group is about 2 or 3 chapters from the end, and once that's in hand I'll make sure everything's nice and tight, and then ... well, you writers know the drill. The rest of you probably don't care much - you just want to read the book, right?
Soon. I promise.
Music, music, music. As you know, I have a pretty decent collection of CDs full of classical and orchestral and jazz music, which I must, must, must have playing in the study while I'm working, either at the day job or at the writing desk. Right now there is silence in my little room because The Boy is still asleep next door. It's early at our house for a Saturday. The WGH will be up and painting soon, and I have to spend a few hours chained to the day job desk, but this afternoon ... look out manuscript. The music will be blaring and I will be tweaking away.
It's a little on the rainy gray side today. A perfect day to stay indoors and accomplish something.
Read a book. It's good for you.
=) JB
"Action is eloquence."
-- William Shakespeare, English dramatist & poet (1564 - 1616)
2.28.2009
2.19.2009
A Somber Anniversary
My life has been on another one of those runs of busy lately. This morning I was on a cleaning binge (a rarity) and for some reason I started thinking about an old friend of ours with whom we have recently reconnected - after 18 years. He was one of my very best friends in high school, we ended up at the same college, and he was the one who actually introduced me to the WGH. We tell him - 20 years and 3 kids later - that it's all his fault. We've all come to grips with it. ;)
But thinking about that friend - and so as not to confuse you, we'll call him Band Bud - made me think about another friend, the third member of a trio that included Band Bud and myself when we were in high school. These two guys were like my big brothers, I their bratty little sister who was always tagging along. It was rare to see one of us without the other two, especially if you happened to walk into the band room at any given moment. Our friendships lasted through college, and then, as adults sometimes do, we all went our separate ways and lost touch with each other. But I thought about both of them often, and even tried a few times to reconnect with them, without much success.
As I mentioned, the WGH and I have recently reconnected with Band Bud, and he may never know how much being back in touch with him means to me. I love him dearly, always have and do still, and I'm one of those firm believers in the value of good friends and in obeying the promptings of God when He says, "You need to talk to this person again."
By now you've probably guessed what my point is. Our dear friend, the third member of our trio, passed away a few years back. He was 38. When I heard the news, I was devastated. It was hard for me to explain why the death of someone I hadn't talked to or seen in 16 years still hit me as hard as it did, but a close current friend explained it to me with a compassion and understanding that only someone who truly knows me could have done. He said, "You don't have casual relationships. You love your friends with such a deep capacity and a fierce loyalty that they will always be your friends, regardless of how much time passes." And he's right. One of the reasons my BF has been my BF for over 30 years, even though we can't see each other as often as we'd like.
It hit me while I was cleaning this morning - it was 5 years ago today that our friend died. And in my mind I played the conversation that hasn't happened yet, the one between Band Bud and me, the one that I've dreaded for the past 5 years. He didn't have any way of knowing whether I knew. I assumed he knew but couldn't be sure. Both of us afraid to make that call. And what do you say? How do you make up for time lost? It's not possible. So we grieve, we cope, and we move on. Together. Being there for each other in case one of us breaks down along the way.
And maybe if he's reading this, we won't have to have that conversation. We'll just know the other knows we know and we'll take comfort in the fact that we have grieved together in spirit, if not in person.
I will always be grateful to God for the many dear friends He has brought into my life - current and past. They're in my heart, whether we're in touch or haven't made contact in years. And that's important. So very important.
When I finally get another book published, in addition to my usual acknowledgements, it will contain a dedication to our friend - I wrote it 5 years ago, in loving memory of him, "who taught me the value of friendship by simply being my friend."
Love your friends with all your heart. Life's too short not to.
=) JB
"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." (1 John 3:18, NIV)
But thinking about that friend - and so as not to confuse you, we'll call him Band Bud - made me think about another friend, the third member of a trio that included Band Bud and myself when we were in high school. These two guys were like my big brothers, I their bratty little sister who was always tagging along. It was rare to see one of us without the other two, especially if you happened to walk into the band room at any given moment. Our friendships lasted through college, and then, as adults sometimes do, we all went our separate ways and lost touch with each other. But I thought about both of them often, and even tried a few times to reconnect with them, without much success.
As I mentioned, the WGH and I have recently reconnected with Band Bud, and he may never know how much being back in touch with him means to me. I love him dearly, always have and do still, and I'm one of those firm believers in the value of good friends and in obeying the promptings of God when He says, "You need to talk to this person again."
By now you've probably guessed what my point is. Our dear friend, the third member of our trio, passed away a few years back. He was 38. When I heard the news, I was devastated. It was hard for me to explain why the death of someone I hadn't talked to or seen in 16 years still hit me as hard as it did, but a close current friend explained it to me with a compassion and understanding that only someone who truly knows me could have done. He said, "You don't have casual relationships. You love your friends with such a deep capacity and a fierce loyalty that they will always be your friends, regardless of how much time passes." And he's right. One of the reasons my BF has been my BF for over 30 years, even though we can't see each other as often as we'd like.
It hit me while I was cleaning this morning - it was 5 years ago today that our friend died. And in my mind I played the conversation that hasn't happened yet, the one between Band Bud and me, the one that I've dreaded for the past 5 years. He didn't have any way of knowing whether I knew. I assumed he knew but couldn't be sure. Both of us afraid to make that call. And what do you say? How do you make up for time lost? It's not possible. So we grieve, we cope, and we move on. Together. Being there for each other in case one of us breaks down along the way.
And maybe if he's reading this, we won't have to have that conversation. We'll just know the other knows we know and we'll take comfort in the fact that we have grieved together in spirit, if not in person.
I will always be grateful to God for the many dear friends He has brought into my life - current and past. They're in my heart, whether we're in touch or haven't made contact in years. And that's important. So very important.
When I finally get another book published, in addition to my usual acknowledgements, it will contain a dedication to our friend - I wrote it 5 years ago, in loving memory of him, "who taught me the value of friendship by simply being my friend."
Love your friends with all your heart. Life's too short not to.
=) JB
"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." (1 John 3:18, NIV)
2.03.2009
The Long-Lost Desk
I have found it once again!
Every so often - like, every four to six months - I have to conduct a major cleaning project on my study. This latest adventure started over the weekend. Long story short, on Saturday I found out there's actually carpet in here. And today I discovered that my desk needs desperately to be repainted.
Of course, because it is now free of piles of books and papers and file folders and old paid bills and bank statements and receipts from six months ago, Haydn has decided that it is safe to once again perch his furry butt on one corner of it. However, he does not pick the corner that is totally free and clear of all extraneous clutter. No. He sits on the one thing I have left on the corner of the desk, a small box of books that I haven't opened yet. (Don't ask me when it was received; I think the bill is around here somewhere, long overdue.)
The upshot of this is that with my study in order, it's a whole lot easier to clear my mind and relax, which is what I need to do to get down to business.
The name of the game is writing, folks, and I'm back off the injured reserve list. ;)
Read a book. It's good for you.
=) JB
"The things that one most wants to do are the things that are probably most worth doing."
-- Winifred Holtby, O Magazine, September 2002
Every so often - like, every four to six months - I have to conduct a major cleaning project on my study. This latest adventure started over the weekend. Long story short, on Saturday I found out there's actually carpet in here. And today I discovered that my desk needs desperately to be repainted.
Of course, because it is now free of piles of books and papers and file folders and old paid bills and bank statements and receipts from six months ago, Haydn has decided that it is safe to once again perch his furry butt on one corner of it. However, he does not pick the corner that is totally free and clear of all extraneous clutter. No. He sits on the one thing I have left on the corner of the desk, a small box of books that I haven't opened yet. (Don't ask me when it was received; I think the bill is around here somewhere, long overdue.)
The upshot of this is that with my study in order, it's a whole lot easier to clear my mind and relax, which is what I need to do to get down to business.
The name of the game is writing, folks, and I'm back off the injured reserve list. ;)
Read a book. It's good for you.
=) JB
"The things that one most wants to do are the things that are probably most worth doing."
-- Winifred Holtby, O Magazine, September 2002
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