New Directions

Once upon a time there was a girl who dreamed of plopping herself down in the sand to gaze out at the ocean for hours as she wrote the great American novel. That girl has grown up, but her dream is materializing out of warm, tropical air.

(Well, it may not be the "great American novel" but it will be a new novel that hopefully a few people will get to read.)

Times have changed since my first vision of how I'd like my life to play out. I'll probably be using my laptop instead of the more romantic pen and notepad. "Hours" may be pushing it, and--being more aware of sun damage now that I'm wiser (older)--I will probably be sitting under an umbrella instead of basking in the sun. But, I will still be reminding myself to be grateful every day that I get to experience this particular version of my personal nirvana.

So, since making this decision to move camp, lots of things have happened and must happen still. We have sold a house, bought a house, watched my daughter graduate and prepared (as prepared as one can be) to send her off to college, and tried to keep life as normal as possible for the twins in between.

It feels a lot like moving a mountain...only there is some help from inertia. We loosened the first few stones and as they came tumbling down, they loosened rocks, which loosened boulders and now we have to unbury ourselves, pack up the whole lot of rocks and rebuild the mountain eleven hours away.

Needless to say, I will be absent from blogging until I get resettled. Unless I have some really good news from the agent front to share, then I will do so briefly between stuffing/unstuffing boxes. We all need hope, right?

This blog may look different when I return. I would like to gear it more toward the things I write about in my novels. Maybe something like science updates that affect our daily lives, or specifically mother's lives. I'm not quite sure yet. I'll be mulling that over.

Any suggestions are welcomed!

(I will try to keep from feeling so disconnected and visit your blogs as I can. Thanks for reading!)

Treasure Hunting

Last week, life took me treasure hunting. Here's what I found:


--My friend serendipity in the form of a buyer for our house, the day before we left to look for a house in Florida.



--The true definition of courage--being terrified beyond reason and doing it anyway. I've written before about my fear of flying. I've contemplated classes and drugs. I used neither. I was still terrified and said each time we landed at layovers I won't get back on another plane. It took a lot of gathering myself up, holding myself together and letting myself go..alot of not thinking, thinking about something else and breathing through the thoughts that slipped through. I'm not convinced I'll ever get back on another plane...but then again, I know I will.




--Soul gold in the form of an eighty-something year old man named Noel, a retired NY photographer who lives his passion by strolling along the beach every evening photographing families together with their own camera...I think this is the first picture on the beach we've all been in together. I watched this man leave us and move on to the next family and my heart truly had wings.



--Time with a family that has held a special place in my life for the past twenty years. And as timing would have it, I got to be there to celebrate my crazy, sweet, gorgeous friend Lisa's birthday with her. I am truly being reminded lately of the importance of friends, both new and old.



This was a trip about finding not just a house, but a home. And as we sat outside at a little restaurant along the sliver of beach town ten minutes from (knock on wood) our new house, I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the treasure that I had found. A place that turned to liquid gold at night, a place whos breeze played with my hair and heart, a place that made me sigh with pleasure...a place that whispered with salty breath in my ear...

welcome home.