Category: The Non-Writing Life

I can’t believe RITA and Golden Heart time has descended upon us already, if only in the form of Judging Sign-Up. 2008 was the first year I could enter RITA, and for some reason I can’t recall I signed up to join the Golden Heart. I love judging the Golden Heart, but I don’t have time to judge both contests in one year, so this year I signed up to judge the RITA for the First Time Ever. I’m looking forward to the different process and experience.

For RITA judging, I had to select a mimimum of three categories I would be willing to judge while not selecting a category I might also enter. I’m entering Novella again this year under my pen name, so I selected four categories to judge other than Novella. I could have selected more (there are 11 categories total), but I’d rather judge the categories with which I’m most familiar.

Monday night, I went to see Mamma Mia with my BFF, who was in town all summer (and just left today). I totally loved this movie! Might I be so bold as to announce that it’s one of my Favorite Movies of the Year? It’s very uplifting—just what I need right now. I laughed a ton. Yet a scene dealing with the Meryl Streep character’s 20-year-old daughter growing up too fast brought a tear to my eye, too. Next week, Youngest Son turns 18, but he’s sticking around. Eldest Son, on the other hand, will be attending an out-of-town university as of the September long weekend. I’m busy preparing for the birthday and the departure. My BFF is only 10 months younger than I am, but had her children late. Her youngest is five. I tried to explain how quickly the teen years pass for parents, far faster than the pre-teen years. And it doesn’t matter how often you try to stop and smell the roses that are your children, the teen years speed by regardless, I think because it’s a turmolic time for the parents as well as the teens! I’ve been looking forward to E.S. moving out of the house, not because I don’t love him and won’t miss him, but because that’s how young adults learn and grow. It’s a very positive experience for him, however, after watching Mamma Mia Monday night and now it’s sinking in that he has just two weeks remaining at home, my ol’ heartstrings are sobbing. Come September, I’ll pretty much be a mess. Consider this fair warning.