Life Just Keeps Happening

Why is it that a retired woman who enjoys writing can let nearly two weeks pass without posting on her blog? I can only say that even retired, I stay busy, and life just keeps happening.

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So what has kept me away from my blog?

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Last weekend I climbed into a car with two of my favorite writers and headed south to attend the SCBWI Houston Conference. I actually started to blog about it one day this week, but somehow my post sounded boring, so I abandoned it. The conference itself wasn’t boring. In fact, it was excellent. And my traveling companions are awesome women. I think I’ll keep our adventures a secret so that our sterling reputations with our SCBWI friends aren’t tarnished. We had fun!

I got to rest a bit before spending two more long days in a car. On Thursday we met Sweet Girl and The Writer in Louisiana to pick up their cat. We’re providing kitty foster care for Vivienne for a while. When you already have three cats, how much more trouble can another cat be? (Of course, that’s what we thought when we went from two kids to three, and we quickly discovered that three is significantly more work than two.) She is a beautiful cat and is adjusting well, although I can’t say that our other cats are happy to have her around. (It’s sort of like how Wild Child acted when Little Guy joined our family. There may be a lot of hissing for a while.)

Today is Dr. Lobo’s birthday, and we’re getting so old we hardly know how to celebrate. In fact, he’s so old, he’s now on Medicare. Seems like just a few years ago we were a young couple raising a family.

In between the trips and the milestones, I do the things we all do that keep us busy. I read (a lot), shop at thrift stores, hang out with Dr. Lobo, do laundry, cook as little as possible, clean the kitchen, do water aerobics, walk in the mall with my pastor/friend, go to church activities, clean the kitchen again, eat lunch and do talk therapy with my best friend, help with children’s programming at church, follow facebook, worship, email, clean the kitchen again, critique manuscripts, and talk with family members. In between those activities, I’m writing a novel. It’s a good thing I no longer have a job. I’d never have time for it.

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I’m grateful for this busy life, full of special people and interesting activities. I’m even grateful for the challenges that cause me to stretch and grow. I hope life keeps on happening for a long, long time.