April 21st Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Good morning. For some reason, it was tough to get the motor going this morning, but I had no choice, because Dani needed to be at school early to take a quiz. So, instead of diving right into my blog, like I usually do, I poked around on Facebook a little.

That’s where I stumbled on a post, from a FB friend, saying he had a horribly vivid nightmare last night. I urged him to write it down, even if he didn’t think he had a flare for writing, someone else could always turn it into a story for him. He wrote back saying he’d rather just forget it. So I wrote back and said the best way to forget it is to get it out of his head and on paper, then I told him about the story behind A Second Chance. We went back and forth a few more times, then a post from author Melissa Foster pops up on the feed. (You should recognize the name. I often share her posts on my page.) Here’s what she posted:

How freaky is that? Of course I promptly shared the post on Jeffrey’s page, which led to a whole bunch of other notes back and forth. It’s these little things, little signs, that proves to me, God or Fate or whatever Power you believe in, leads us where we need to be. If it had been a normal morning, chances are pretty good, I would never have seen Jeffrey’s or even Melissa’s posts.

As I get older, and especially in the past two years, I have come to realize that, if I hadn’t taken some sort of detour from my norm, I wouldn’t have been in a particular place, at a particular time, and I would have missed an opportunity, or missed meeting someone. The first time I noticed this, and it really sunk in, was a few years ago, when I was working this AWFUL temp job forty-five minutes, on a good day, from home.

Convertible Blue Beemer

One day in May, I was driving home in horrendous traffic. It turns out it was Princeton’s commencement day. After two hours of inching along, staring at the gold Camry in front of me, and the blue convertible Beemer in my rear view, scrolling through my GPS to see if I could find an alternate route, I found a turn off. My GPS had showed a road going through to another street, and from there I could bypass Princeton proper completely.

Gold Camry

I made the left, and headed down this new road, only to find it came to an abrupt end. My GPS was wrong. I turn around, headed back the way I came, got back into the flow of traffic, and continued my slow crawl home. An hour, and less than a mile later, I was moved over to the left lane by the police, to get traffic around an accident in the right hand lane. As I rolled by, I realize the cars which were involved in the accident, were the cars which were directly in front of, and behind me, before I had made my misguided left hand turn. If I had stayed my course, the blue convertible Beemer would have plowed into me, and not into the gold Camry.

Karen & Me - My first book signing

After that incident, I began to notice more and more. A friend, of a friend, of my mom’s noticed an article in the paper, which eventually filtered down to me, and led to me being invited to my first PPL Author’s Day. A random paring at a table during the PPLAD, led to a close friendship. An old school chum, who I hadn’t seen in twenty plus years, shows up at my first book signing. A few weeks later, her boss contacts me, and invites me to be part of an author’s panel at her daughter’s school. At the author’s panel, I chat with another author, research the information he shared with me, and end up pulling my first book from its original publisher, and rereleasing it through my current publisher, at a lower price and at a much better percentage for me. Another random conversation led me to the Indie Next Generation site, and A Second Chance ended up being the winner for 2013 for Romance.

Writers Panel 2013

I could probably site twenty more examples of things which have happened over the past two years, but you get my point. I have truly come to realize that God (who is who I personally believe in) puts someone in our path, or you in their path, who need to be there at a certain time. Either you are meant to help them, or they you. It’s only since I have stopped fighting or resisting the fact, that I have been blessed.

Please don’t get me wrong, my life is not all unicorns and rainbows. Heap loads of bad things, of varying degrees, still happen, but I now take, even the bad things, as an opportunity to learn and grow.

Enough philosophical who-ha, I have a novel to work on. I hope y’all have a great day, and happy writing!

Your Last Challenge was:

To spend Sunday enjoying your family, whether you celebrate Easter or not.

Alex, Dani, Colby & PJ
"Where's my basket PJ?"

So, were you good? Did you do your homework? Did you have a fun day? I’d love to hear about it…

I’ve come to the conclusion my family is nuts, certifiably bonkers, and I wouldn’t trade them for the world. When we get together, there is lots of laughter and general silliness. Even the youngest, three year old Alice and two year old Isabelle, are showing signs of fitting in perfectly with the rest of us.

Alice and Isabelle - Easter 2014

Yesterday, we had a change of venue. Normally Easter was spent at my dad and step mother’s house, but since they are moving to Florida next week, we all met at my aunt’s house. I’m sure I mentioned it before, but my aunt, my father’s sister, and I are only a few years apart, so we were brought up more like siblings than aunt and niece. Are kids are alternating steps – 25, 23, 20, 19, 18 and 15.

Dad & Me - Christmas 2012

So we were at my aunt’s house, and my husband tells me, I should spend extra time with my dad, because it may be the last time I get to see him. Oh my God! It hits me. He may be right. My dad was retiring to Florida in a week, and I may not get to see him for a really long time, if ever. Granted, I only got to see my dad a couple of times a year, which was sad, but he was only half an hour away. So if needed, I could always just hop in the car, and be able to see him. Now I won’t be able to. Multiple trips to Florida, just isn’t in my budget. Although the realization put a damper on my mood, we still made the best of the remaining time we had together.

Your Next Challenge is:

Stuff in your house keeps appearing and disappearing

You have 10 minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

April 20th

Hi, it’s Christina –

I just wanted to take a few minutes, while I was having my first cup of coffee, to wish everyone (who celebrates) a Happy Easter! I’m up really early today, because I ran out of steam and didn’t get everything done. My hubby, bless his heart, colored eggs with Dani last night, cooked up the sausage for the sausage and peppers I need to bring to my aunts, and he straightened up the living room for me, and Dani baked the cupcakes. All I have left to do is clean up the kitchen and help T.E.B. with his morning task.

PJ and Alex will be here by eight, and I would really like to be out of the shower and dressed already by the time they get here. The Easter egg hunt, baskets, and breakfast should take us to nine, which leaves Dani and my husband forty-five minutes to shower and dress before we have to leave for church.

Easter morning is fun around here, and if you’ve read Corporate Blues, you already know my family’s tradition. It will be a little strange though, with PJ not waking up here and Lys away at college, but we are still determined to make it nice for Dani.

First we start with a letter from the Easter Bunny. Here’s a copy of the note the kids will be finding this morning:

A dozen eggs for each, you’ll have to find

I’ve done my best, so take your time

Search high and search low, and then you’ll see

Just how clever this old bunny can be

ORANGE and YELLOW will be Alex’s quest

Let’s see if she’ll be able to keep up with the rest

This year PURPLE and PINK eggs are for my Dani girl

Don’t leave any behind, give it a whirl

That leaves PJ, my only lad

BLUE and GREEN eggs this year, are yours to be had

Of course I did not forget sweet Lys,

Even though this Easter, she must miss

If you see eggs of the sparkly kind,

Those are for her, so leave them behind

That’s all for right now, and I must scurry

For as you know, this morn, I’m in a great hurry

Hope your day is warm and sunny

Love your friend,

The Easter Bunny

     

Then when the race to see who can find all their eggs first is over, they open their eggs, one at a time, alternating. Inside each egg is either money, or a slip of paper saying “Pick a Gift”. After all the eggs are opened, and all the gifts unwrapped, they open their Easter baskets and make a bee line for their Cadbury egg – our traditional “Easter Breakfast”, one which, every year, makes my husband wince and shake his head. Then we scatter and start rushing around, like a bunch of chickens with a fox in their hen house, to try to get to church on time.

Some years we’re more successful than others. This year we need to be on time, because with the way they redid the parking lot at church, there aren’t as many spaces as we used to have, so our minister asked, if possible, could we carpool. My mom will be pulling up at 9:45, so we had better be ready. The one thing she doesn’t know is, she’ll be the one driving, because I never got around to cleaning out our car yesterday. I’m safe though, she would never think to kill me on such a holy day.

Okay, I should skedaddle. I hope y’all have a blessed day, and happy writing!