Timing

These days, time is a rare commodity. It is more valuable than gold and more precious than jewels. No, I'm not getting maudlin because I have a birthday coming up. Just the opposite. I am thankful that I have a birthday coming up!

My husband, friends and family gave me a surprise party this weekend. It was not a true surprise, but that did not matter to me. I was looking forward to it. I was surprised by all who were there. My dear friend Stephanie went out of her way to host the party. The decorations were gorgeous, and the food was delicious. The cake was from my favorite bakery and it was out of this world.

Most of all, I loved the time--the time that my husband put into running around to get everything taken care of, to email the guests well in advance, and to think about little things that I liked. I loved that Stephanie took extra time to make special placecards and decorated to the hilt. I love that my cousins and friends took the time to drive all the way across the state to share in my special day. I love the time that we spent together, catching up and laughing with each other. That was the real gift to me. I am so thankful that my birthday was special enough for their time.

Now, two days later, time is flying again. I have a class to teach tomorrow and I still have to finish the lesson, and three dresses to make, also due tomorrow, for my daughter's play which is coming up too quickly. I desperately want to write, to finish my next packet for my advisor, to get through the novel I am working on... but there's no TIME for that now. It's all happening at once. What bad timing!

Well, I'd better get going. I have no more time to blog. Until next week...

-PLB

PS Thanks for taking the time to read this!

New Mantras

Well, I guess isn't a daily blog. Weekly, yeah, that's it.

Here's my Monday Post:

It was a rather sucky week here. And yes, sucky is a word--at least around here it is. It accurately described my week.

My health was sucky, the weather was sucky, finances were sucky...

I had some kind of minor GI bug that gave me a low-grade fever and a case of nausea that rivaled my fourth pregnancy. Fever is not a symptom of pregnancy, and neither is my monthly red-blood cell depletion, so I wasn't worried about it. I just felt lousy. And to put the chocolate-covered cherry on top, it started on Valentine's Day.

The weather, while a massive snowstorm everywhere else, was just rain here. In the middle of an artic freeze, we have one day of 40º weather - the day it was supposed to snow. So, I had to deliver my little one and a dozen double-decker heart-shaped cookies to nursery school while extremely nauseous in the bitter cold pouring down rain. So much for romance.

It took days for me to feel better, but as soon as I did, my cat started getting sick. He's prone to urinary blockage because he's deformed in the genital region. Poor little deformed kitty. He's a sweetheart, but he's costing us a fortune with his convoluted urinary tract. I saw the bill and felt nauseous all over again.

It was this vet bill, and my immense desire not to return to work that led me to seek some new inspirational writing mantras. I found two incredibly motivating quotes. I posted them by my computer because I need constant reminding that LIFE IS SHORT! No, that's not one of the mantras, but it is the truth.

One of my inspirations in the writing world, Marion Dane Bauer, lost her son recently. My heart goes out to her and her family. Peter Dane Bauer was 42 years old. I will be forty in two weeks. Those two things together are unsettling for me. He died of something similar to what my mother died from. What if I only have two years left? Or no years left? We never, ever know.

"A sobering thought: What if, at this very moment, I am living up to my full potential?" - Jane Wagner

"Nothing is as far away as a minute ago." -Jim Bishop

I am off to write, write, and write some more. It is my dream and my passion. I will only have more time to write if I take more time to write. You can quote me on that :)

-PLB

"I do not want to die... until I have faithfully made the most of my talent and cultivated the seed that was placed in me until the last small twig is grown." -Katie Kollwitz

Bloggity Blogger

Never thought I would blog myself online. I mean, why? I tend to ramble (as you will see), my grammar ain't that great, and my thoughts are often...silly.

Well, after seeing lots and lots of blogs, I caved. The lure of the blog was too great for me to withstand. Besides, I am almost 40 and I'll only live once.

With that, welcome to my blog! Feel free to post.
-PLB