Month: September 2008

Empty Nest: Week One

Don’t worry, I’m not going to journal my journey through Empty Nest Syndrome. Reading this article made me feel a lot better about the emotions I’ve experienced since dropping Eldest Son off at university seven days ago (that’s him between me and Y.S. in the truck). And guess what? Ta-da! I’m normal. (Bet you never saw that coming).

Yes, it’s completely normal to feel like you’re in a sort of mourning when your child leaves for college for the first time. It’s perfectly okay to feel like a mountain is sitting on your chest. The good news is, the mountain gets up and leaves. It’s funny how a one-line email from the child in question or communicating with him via your other child’s Instant Messaging System of choice can suddenly right your world again. Days 3 – 5 were the worst. Then the rational side of me realized, I’m not mourning him. He’s alive and well and healthy and hopefully having the time of his life. What else could a mother wish for? (For the grammarians among you, read that, “For what else could a mother wish?”).

We had a great time as a family and visited old friends who greatly helped in the transition. It’s wonderful to know my dear friend J. is only a short drive away from the campus. Plus, E.S. is attending my Alma mater, which My Liege also attended during my second year. Yes, the campus is a lot bigger than it was “back in the day,” but we covered a lot of familiar territory, and I realized the university still holds a special place in my heart. A beautiful city, a beautiful campus, beautiful friends, and a beautiful son…

Life is good.

New Chapters

The WordPress dashboard tells me I have exactly 100 posts on my blog now. Yay, me. Congratulate me on my milestone. I guess that makes this post #101.

Sigh. I’m still feeling very unsettled in the wake of Eldest Son’s departure to university, especially after investigating flight costs and realizing it would cost something like $400 after taxes and surcharges to bring him home for Canadian Thanksgiving (usually around October 10th). And the flight is under an hour! Holy price-gouging, Batman. E.S. said when we parted that he was fully prepared not to come home until Christmas, and you can bet I’m springing the bucks for that two-week holiday. But two nights? We shall see… (In the event you all think I’m heartless, I do have a friend in his university town with two kids he grew up with who would ensure he was well taken care of).

Just before leaving to take E.S. to university, I wrapped up a chapter on the WIP that left me firmly in the middle of the book with a major turning point and a hook. You’d think the next chapter and scene would be a breeze to write, then, huh? Um, not so much. I have a lot of fast-drafted scenes for this story, and I’ve spent the last couple of days (after re-reading those first 12 chapters to plant my brain in the story again) physically moving the drafted scenes around in the manuscript, trying to strike the right balance between plot, mystery, development of romance, and characterization. I think what I’ve moved makes sense, and it’s time to begin revising the first of the two transferred scenes and see if I’m right.

Often, when I begin a new chapter or even a new scene, I walk around in a haze for a day or two, during which I feel super-anxious. I know the brain is churning, and in a way I can actually feel it churning. The churning is the anxiety (some might call it creativity). Right behind my forehead. Agh! Every time this happens, I curse my writing process, but I shouldn’t curse it, I should embrace it. It appears I need to go through the churning in order to successfully write and plot the next few scenes. I often blame this process on Elle Muse, because she’s the one standing inside my head laughing at my bruised forehead! However, she’s also the one doing all the work right now.

And you thought being a writer was all fun and games. Think again. It’s freakin’ hard work.

Well, there you go. I’ve begun a new chapter of my life with E.S. leaving home, and I’m beginning not only a new chapter of my WIP but a new direction, thanks to that major turning point. Wish me luck. For the next week or so, I’m pretty sure I’ll need it.

A Cindy By Any Other Name…

I’m back! Sort of. My body’s here. My mind, I’m not so sure.

Eldest Son is ensconced in his university of choice, and Youngest Son began (local) college today. Settling in E.S. required a trip out of town, but I’ve met two of his three roommates and ensured he has enough canned foods to see him through “learning to cook,” so I’m doing okay missing the little twerp. Keeping busy is the key. Today, I thoroughly cleaned the boys’ bathroom (I’m talking taking everything out, mopping everything down, scatter-painting—I believe the word for this activity is “touching up,” but it felt more like scatter-painting to me—the walls and baseboards, then moving everything back in). Now, only Y.S. is responsible for the state of the bathroom. Let’s see how that works out…

For your amusement, taken from Avery Beck’s blog:


What Your Name Says About You


Your name says that you are mostly:

Inspiring but melodramatic

Your name also says you are:

Artistic but extreme
Unconventional but unstable
Shrewd but overbearing

 

 

 

 

Hmmm. I love that “Cindy” is “inspiring,” but “melodramatic?” Give me a freaking break!!! Who the hell is this quiz to say I’m melodramatic???? I think I’ll go cry buckets.

“Artistic but extreme.” Okay, I know there’s such a thing as extreme sports, but…extreme artistry? At least it says I’m artistic, which is good, considering I’m a writer. I’ll try to look upon “extreme” as a compliment, too. “Extremely” entertaining. “Extreme,” mad writerly skills, yada.

“Unconventional but unstable.” Yes, I might fall off my chair any second. I admit I don’t have the greatest sense of balance, which undoubtedly accounts for the “unstable.”

“Shrewd but overbearing.” Another insult packed with a compliment. Well, some people don’t understand my sense of humor, so maybe I’m overbearing, but it’s not my fault. I didn’t name me Cindy.

Just for fun, I then typed in my pen name:


What Your Name Says About You


Your name says that you are mostly:

Intuitive but high strung

Your name also says you are:

Ambitious but stubborn
Dynamic but aggressive
Passionate but flighty

 

 

 

Interesting, my pen name shares the exact same characteristics as Avery’s name…

Taking the whole experiment one step further, I typed in my pen name’s blog nickname (“Penny” for the uneducated). That results in :


What Your Name Says About You


Your name says that you are mostly:

Commanding but aloof

Your name also says you are:

Passionate but flighty
Unconventional but unstable
Perceptive but paranoid

 

 

 

Wow. “Cindy” and “Penny” are both “unconventional but unstable,” while “Penny” and my actual pen name are both “passionate but flighty.” I think it’s safe to say we can determine I am:

Unconventional
Unstable
Passionate
Flighty

If that’s not a creative personality, what is?

How do you fare on this quiz? Take it…if you dare.