I look at this photo of myself, and I see it as a "before" picture. Before COVID-19, before my husband starting working from home, before I couldn't travel to New York City to see my mother. This photo was taken at a writers workshop in Iowa with the SCBWI (Society of Chidlren's Book Writers & Illustrators). I'm not going to writing workshops now, not this summer. Everything has been cancelled. Yet in this humid, Missouri heat--as strange as it feels to admit it--there are good things that have come from this pandemic. I enjoy having my husband working from home, and we've started a weekly FaceTime event with my mom, and I have been attending Zoom writing workshops online. What about you? What's new and different and good about this year, this summer?
While I've worked at home for years writing children's books, having to stay home has put me in a decorating mood. Or rather, has put me in an un-decorating mood. We've lived in this ranch-style house since 1992. We decorated it nearly 30 years ago, and that's the way it has stayed. And now it looks dated and not quite who I am anymore. We have only one wall completed, three to go.
While I've worked at home for years writing children's books, having to stay home has put me in a decorating mood. Or rather, has put me in an un-decorating mood. We've lived in this ranch-style house since 1992. We decorated it nearly 30 years ago, and that's the way it has stayed. And now it looks dated and not quite who I am anymore. We have only one wall completed, three to go.
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Time to Paint
See the strip of a different color paint on our wall? That's where the wallpaper used to be. Our living room will need to be repainted. But that all has to be put on hold. I found out I have a health issue--nothing serious, but I still need surgery. I'll be unable to lift, or stretch, or stand on a ladder for 4-8 weeks. No more redecorating for a while for me! So, 2020 has been the year that I've thought about my mortality more than once. Nothing seems to matter when your health is at risk, or the health of those you love. What dangers are you facing this year?
Yes, there is a "before." But I must remember that there is also an "after." I will look back on 2020 as a year of sadness, transition, and change. A year of hope for a vaccine, and truly a year of gratefulness for the relationships we have and the intangibles, for those are what is really important.
Book News
Writing fairytales for Compass Publishing, an educational publisher in South Korea from January through May, 2020, was a highlight of my writing career. So, I'd like to end with fairytale reference. My husband, Steve, planted pole beans and they are growing up to the sky. This photo shows him pointed to the pole, and he's over 6 feet tall! Makes us think of the fairytale, Jack-in-the-Beanstalk. Happy climbing!
See the strip of a different color paint on our wall? That's where the wallpaper used to be. Our living room will need to be repainted. But that all has to be put on hold. I found out I have a health issue--nothing serious, but I still need surgery. I'll be unable to lift, or stretch, or stand on a ladder for 4-8 weeks. No more redecorating for a while for me! So, 2020 has been the year that I've thought about my mortality more than once. Nothing seems to matter when your health is at risk, or the health of those you love. What dangers are you facing this year?
Yes, there is a "before." But I must remember that there is also an "after." I will look back on 2020 as a year of sadness, transition, and change. A year of hope for a vaccine, and truly a year of gratefulness for the relationships we have and the intangibles, for those are what is really important.
Book News
Writing fairytales for Compass Publishing, an educational publisher in South Korea from January through May, 2020, was a highlight of my writing career. So, I'd like to end with fairytale reference. My husband, Steve, planted pole beans and they are growing up to the sky. This photo shows him pointed to the pole, and he's over 6 feet tall! Makes us think of the fairytale, Jack-in-the-Beanstalk. Happy climbing!
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