Where I was last weekend and where I’ll be next (Meet the Author opportunity!)
I walked amongst towering pines and shady trees just beginning to blush with Fall rosiness, moisture warming the air while breezes countered to cool it. Up ahead: my nephew, the boy who once delighted in LEGO and crawling through the CARS-themed tent I presented him one Christmas, now stood towering over friends and family in striking costume as last minute details were attended to. To my left: a well-preserved Victorian house embraced by a wrapping porch, within which my nephew’s partner donned a fantastical white-and-purple gown for their imminent nuptials.
I love love.
It was an unconventional wedding. So perfectly them. And through the celebration I got to know these relatives of mine just a little bit more, even simply in the observation.
And so I didn’t write. I just absorbed.
Perhaps this is part of being a writer, too.
I was present. I laughed. I danced. I hugged. I touched my sister’s cheek, velvety soft – a sister I so seldom see.
What is life, if we don’t slow down and make time for these touchstone moments? Step outside of the everyday to simply be? Some moments don’t move our own plot forward, and that’s more than okay.
Find beauty in the ordinary and the sublime.
That’s my update: no great insight, just a small slice of living life. Of gratitude for being in it.
And speaking of presence, back in the warmth of Southern California, an opportunity:
Saturday, September 28, I will be participating in two local author events at libraries in Los Angeles and Riverside counties. Unfortunately the timing and disparate locations means I will leave the first early and arrive late to the second, but if you are local to either place and would like to meet me or to pick up a SIGNED copy of either of my books, join me at the Claremont public library from 10-11:30 or at the Riverside public library from 12-1:00. And stay later or come earlier to connect with other local authors and discover new books! In Claremont, the authors cover a range of topics, and in Riverside, the books are all mental health focused. I would LOVE to meet you and your friends there!