by jphilo | Apr 25, 2016 | Daily Life
A week ago last Saturday, Katie Wetherbee and I were at the Accessibility Summit at McLean Bible Church near Washington, DC. In the morning we put on our fancy duds and facilitated a workshop called How to Become a Special Needs Ministry Master Chef, based on our book Every Child Welcome. After that we hung out at our book table.
Which turned out to be the party table in our part of the Exhibition Hall.
I can’t speak for Katie, but for the first time in my life I knew what it was like to sit at the popular table in the high school lunch room. People visited our table all day long. They signed up for the email newsletter, asked to take pictures with us, and bought books. Lots and lots of books. So many that several titles sold out, and I only had to lug home 5 of the 60+ books I lugged to DC.
It was pretty heady stuff.
Then I came home on Monday, put on yoga pants and a sweatshirt, and spent the rest of the week doing every day stuff. Unpacked and started the laundry. Cleaned the kitchen. Caught a cold. Got a haircut. Paid the bills. Grocery shopped. Started a diet. Cooked low fat meals.
Then another Saturday arrived.
There wasn’t a party table in sight. Just Creeping Charlie in the rhubarb to pull and quack grass in the flower beds to hoe. Cilantro to sow. House plants to move to the sun porch. Grass to mow. Three pans of buttermilk brownies to bake and Rice Krispie Treats to make for Sunday’s fundraiser for my mission trip to Latvia. Just me and the Man of Steel working side by side. He didn’t ask for a picture with me. But I didn’t ask for a picture with him either.
Such a come down from the Accessibility Summit.
To be honest, this author’s life is pretty mundane. Lots and lots of weeks of solitary writing, waiting for those rare moments when the right words combine to say exactly what you want. Doing housework alone and yard work with the Man of Steel. Dotted with those unexpected weekend stints at the party table. But I’m in good company.
After all, Erma Bombeck did all her own housework, too.
by jphilo | May 5, 2015 | Top Ten Tuesday
10. The frost boil on our little gravel road has healed, and city workers removed the “road closed” barricades.
9. My allergy elimination diet has moved from bark, twigs, and leaves meat, veggies, and nuts to meat, veggies, nuts, rice, and oatmeal.
8. At the library, I scored the audio version of Amy Poehler’s memoir Yes, Please.
7. I also scored The Book Thief movie DVD and watched it with Hiram. Geoffrey Rush’s portrayal of the father? Perfect.
6. The post about Beginnings and Endings led many former Bryant school faculty, staff, and students to share memories on Facebook about the years they spent there.
5. Every Child Welcome, the book Katie Wetherbee and I co-authored was Amazon’s #1 new release in the Children’s Ministry division and #2 of ALL their children’s ministry books, new and old.
4. The lilacs are blooming.
3. Saturday night, the Man of Steel and I went out to supper with Mom, my sis, and my bro. In honor of Dad, we saved our straws.
2. Facetime with my son and grandson on Saturday.
1. Conversation with a writer I was coaching led to the realization that her parents and grandparents knew my dad when he was an extension agent in southwest Iowa. Her grandpa was on the 4-H board and got home very late one night because Dad wouldn’t stop talking. I love hearing those stories about Dad before my memories of him kicked in.
What are you smiling about this week? Leave a comment!
by jphilo | Mar 26, 2015 | Three Thoughts for Thursday
- Encouragement: When you realize educators, writers, and special needs ministry directors, people you respect highly enough to ask them to endorse the book you co-authored with Katie Wetherbee, email to say they love Every Child Welcome.
- Most recent God wink: When you finish your talk with a strict five minute time limit; the talk you didn’t have time to prepare for because you’ve spent the past 2 weeks caring for family members with the flu, caring for your daughter who’s having early contractions, and finishing edits on a new book; and the person with the timer says your talk ran five minutes exactly.
- Lenten gratitude: When your brother-in-law introduces you to Kirkland’s dairy-free Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds with Sea Salt–of course, you eat a few to be polite, even though you gave up chocolate for Lent–and they are so delicious you are very, very grateful you gave up chocolate for Lent. Because if you hadn’t, you would drive straight to Costco, buy a bag, and eat way more than is good for you.
What God winks have you received lately? Leave a comment.
by jphilo | Mar 23, 2015 | Book Updates
Can it possibly be that Jane last made an appearance along this gravel road in July of last year? Yes, sorry to say, it’s been that long. And since that post’s report of on the sad lack of progress of the mystery novel bearing her name, Jane and her cast of characters has been almost completely neglected.
Poor Jane. Poor, poor Jane.
Mind, you the reasons for this shameful neglect are all good ones. First, I had to research and write a book about PTSD in children to meet the publishers November 30, 2014 deadline. A week later a month long Camp Dorothy commenced, and I was too busy keeping track of Vanna White and Judge Judy to write much. No sooner did that end, than our second grandchild was born and Mom moved into assisted living. Oh, and did I mention that The Caregiver’s Notebook released on November 1, 2014?
Poor Jane. Poor, neglected Jane.
To add insult to injury, all my time since 2015 began has been spent going to see the grandkids and completing edits on Every Child Welcome, along with a B-I-G rewrite of the PTSD book. That book, by the way, has finally been named Does My Child Have PTSD? What to Do When Your Child Is Hurting from the Inside Outs.
Poor Jane. Poor, traumatized Jane.
Because, as Does My Child Have PTSD? makes very clear, neglect over a long period of time can cause PTSD in children, especially babies. And Jane is most certainly my baby, even though she’s a young, independent woman living in the wilds of South Dakota. And my baby will most likely remain sadly neglected for at least 2 more months, maybe 3…until the final edits of the PTSD book are done, my daughter’s baby is born, and my spring speaking schedule clears up.
Poor Jolene Jane. Poor, poor Jolene Jane.
She misses her imaginary romps in northwest South Dakota and writing school teacher detective scenes where glitter becomes the ultimate weapon. She misses writing about nasty weather on the big prairie without having to experience it first hand. So to give Jolene Jane and anyone else who misses the short grass prairie a taste of what they’re missing, here’s a clip from KOTA news in Rapid City offers a taste of life out west. Complete with heat, indoor plumbing, and two of the strongest Harding County women I’ve had the pleasure to meet.
Just wait, Jane. Wait, Jane, wait!
by jphilo | Jan 27, 2015 | Top Ten Tuesday
10. After being very disagreeable for a week or two, the temperatures finally decided to behave themselves.
9. A church fundraiser provided the opportunity to make dairy free “buttermilk” brownies, sample a few, and give the rest away. Check tomorrow’s post for the recipe!
8. Our daughter and her husband moved into a condo, which means we’ll be getting rid of some old furniture.
7. Co-author Katie Wetherbee and I are almost done editing the page proofs for Every Child Welcome, which is scheduled for release on April 27, 2015. (Yes, you can pre-order now!)
6. Whittling away at my to list in the second half of January means February may have some free time to work on the mystery novel again…if I can remember what it’s about.
5. Watching and listening to reporters trying to talk about “under-inflated balls” without breaking into fits of adolescent giggles is highly entertaining.
4. The Parenthood finale. Which is also the worst thing about late January since it signifies the end of a fantastic television series.
3. Downton Abbey, Season 5.
2. Mom’s doing her best to adjust to her new digs in assisted living.
1. The Man of Steel finally gets to meet his new grand daughter this coming weekend.
What do you love about late January 2015? Leave you comments below.
