Wednesday, August 03, 2011

Shhhhhh... Summer Is in Progress

It's quiet here, and for good reasons. Most of all, I've been away, sweltering last week in North Carolina while visiting family. I've been a single mom, with Henry out West for his brother's wedding. The heat and humidity made most everything uncomfortable, and we did all get cranky being housebound, but we did manage to swim a lot, consume frozen confections of various types, and even take in a Mudcats ballgame as the sun set at 102 degrees. Beer and Dipping Dots made the weather bearable.

I didn't write a damn thing other than a short scene for my novel that came to me one morning. My blog post was written the week before and was a retread from last summer. I've barely blog-hopped, tweeted twice, and don't think I popped onto facebook a single time in ten days.

Back in Baltimore, a tad less hot. For three days I've had the house to myself, and have used most of that time to work on final edits on a novel, readying it for marketing. It may be hot, but it felt like Christmas when I unwrapped helpful edits from two talented and trusted writers.

I've also ruminated a lot, mostly on being a mother and the difficulty in finding a balance between being a friend and being a disciplinarian. Raising children is a lot like writing a book -- there are infinite ways to get to the ending. I'm fairly tolerant of their antics -- they are just kids after all -- and try to use their less-than-admirable times as teaching moments. But sometimes Mama comes undone, and that's cause for reflection. Mostly I realize I not perfect, and neither are my children, and try to cut all of us some slack.

Reading The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Junot Diaz) which started slow but quickly catapaulted me into the culture, history, and mouthfeel of the Dominican Republic. I wish I understood Spanish, Diaz sprinkles the language throughout; I know I am missing the fullness of his work in my half-ass translations.

Two more days of vacation. This is the first time in 16 years I have been away from work for two weeks. I've enjoyed the laziness, the solitude, the reliance on pizza and tomatoes from the garden, the absence of the internet. It's gonna be hard to leave the slow lane. Peace...

7 comments:

  1. Way to recharge those batteries! It is amazing how soothing the properties of a vacation are!

    ReplyDelete
  2. ha what a pleasure to have extended vaca - good on you now as for not dropping by while you were here..

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your blog is really helps for my search and i really like it.. Thanks a lot..:)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Make the most of the remaining moments of your vacation!

    I wanted to let you know that I nominated you for the Liebster Award.
    http://displacedyankeeinnc.blogspot.com/2011/08/liebster-award.html

    ReplyDelete
  5. Being a mama is hardest when you are away from the routine. Good on you for cutting the kids some slack. It can be heard to do. :)

    Enjoy the last of your vacation.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Will you be reviewing Oscar Wao? It's one of those books I missed mid-hype and wonder a deal about.

    Recharge well, lady!

    ReplyDelete
  7. @ weeks out of 16 years is not nearly enough, you should take more time for yourself,you deserve it.
    Check out my blog if you get a chance http://ismanthyhere.blogspot.com
    I need some new followers - Thanks,Mark

    ReplyDelete