Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated...

I have been ever so busy. I actually hate when people constantly say they're soooo busy, like it's a condition unique to them. Sometimes I just want to say, "You ARE? I'm not at all. I just don an orange vest and round up carts at the Jewel at 4:00 each day. That's pretty much it. Nothin' else going on." I mean, who in this world isn't busy?

But indeed, I have been. I have been because....drum roll....I've been working! I jumped into January in overdrive, sending out resumes and contacting everyone I could think of. My mom called me one day and said, "I don't know if you're interested, but I have this friend who is the managing editor of a magazine. I told her about you and your job loss; she wondered what kind of editing you do." Uh, Mom? What else have you been holding out on me?

Long story short, for the last couple weeks, I've been doing work for an absolutely lovely magazine called Significant Living. I've done a rewrite on a story and written an article and have plans to edit as well. I absolutely love the work; it's so much fun. The first article I did was a piece on Thelma Wells, an incredible ball of energy. I emailed her to ask a few questions about her new book, and she simply emailed back her phone number and said "Call me."

Now, most people who know me know I hate the phone because talking to people via it makes me nervous. It's a quirk, bear with me. But, I hesitatingly called her at the appointed time and said, "Mrs. Wells? I just want to ask you a few questions for the article; I hope I'm not interrupting your personal time." She answered, "Well, hi, honey! I'm not doin' a thing but lyin' here on the bed, so go ahead with whatever you want to ask me." I wish everyone reading this could meet and know this lovely lady. She has an awesome life story.

Then, this week I wrote an article on two incredibly inspirational people--one a gentleman who started a new career as a photographer post-retirement, and another a woman who quit her job, moved with her husband to the wilderness, and became a writer.

The irony of the subjects I'm writing on is not lost on me--people who struggled or came to the end of a path in life and, by God's grace and through His incredible blessing, dusted themselves off and started on a brand new, exciting journey.

In addition to the magazine, I've got other possible assignments for various clients in the cooker...all sorts of different venues and opportunities. And as well, I'm tackling mounds of laundry, waiting in the carpool line, making meals, practicing kindergarten reading, traveling multiple times per week to the swim club, planning our summer vacation (I am so ready for July), and all the other activities that make up my life.

Right now I need to close this post, bundle up Elaine (who is involved in some elaborate ceremony of walking a Japanese doll up and down the side of the fireplace, whispering instructions to her), and pick up Lucy from school.

One thing I'm noticing...it's harder to write on the blog when I'm writing other things. My creativity and willingness to sit down and put thoughts to paper is sapped somewhat since I'm doing it elsewhere. But rest assured...I'm still here, I've got posts cooking in my head, the girls are saying and doing funny things--I'll get it down eventually.

In the meantime, maybe you will see my writing in a magazine?! I would never have imagined this two months ago!