Staycation

Here we are 5 years ago on the eve of our wedding. I will never forget waking up the next morning with so much peace in my heart.

To celebrate our anniversary, we’re traveling to a hotel . . . 8 blocks away.

We debated going to LA or Napa Valley. We talked about driving to the beaches of Wilmington, N.C. or the bustling streets of New York City. We dreamed about seeing the great state of Maine. But in the end we decided to follow the trend and take a staycation.

Since moving to Virginia last year, we’ve been working a lot – now it’s time to just relax and enjoy our little town.

So we’re having dinner at a restaurant that always catches our eye, but we haven’t made time to visit. And we’ll wander the streets with our dog (who I’m sure will be grateful to be with us instead of the kennel). When we first talked about booking a room in a hotel right around the corner I thought the idea sounded crazy. Now I can’t think of a more perfect way to celebrate.

Order in the Court

I’m on level ground again after an emotional weekend. Ron and I flew halfway across the country to celebrate my judge’s 20 year appointment to the bench. Walking into the courthouse, a surge of old memories rushed up inside me. I kept oscillating between tears and laughter.

I loved being a judicial law clerk. It’s a 12 month gig that allows recent law school graduates to research the issues in the cases on the judge’s docket and help the judge make rulings and write orders. Judges usually have two law clerks at a time, and the cases – which are all numbered – are divided between them. I was the “even” clerk and my co-clerk, Shawn, was the “odd” clerk.

Standing in the formal courtroom, I saw the counselor tables (complete with new technology that wasn’t there eight years ago), the jury box (14 chairs for 12 jurors and two alternates), the witness stand, and the bench (where the judge sits). Above the bench there was the seal of the United States District Court. At that moment, I wanted to practice law again really badly.

The desire is still bubbling around a bit, but I’m sure it’s temporary. Because what I actually want is something impossible. I want to go back in time. I want to clerk for my judge again with the exact same group of people in his chambers, from the secretary to the U.S. marshals to the court reporter. I know that can’t happen. And I know I’m on the correct career path as a writer. But it was fun to take a trip down memory lane. And to realize how drafting all those orders helped me today (they sharpened my writing skills).

Hope is a Good Thing

What’s up doc?

Do you think when I switched careers I should’ve become a therapist instead of a writer?
This is me sitting in my mom’s “chair.” She’s a therapist in Nashville and is about to open her own practice in addition to working at the clinic where she is now. I’m so proud. There is nothing as rewarding as running your own biz.

But yeah, I think I’ll leave that job with her and stick to pen and paper. Speaking of being an entrepreneur (can I use that term to apply to being a freelancer, or are the two different?), I found out today that an article of mine that was slated to come out in September – an article I was so excited about – was just pushed to March. I actually dreamed of this very thing happening and brushed off my dream as silly. After all, the final pages were already sent to the printer. I allowed myself to be sad for about two minutes, then set my disappointment aside, drove home, and kept pushing forward. This is the life of a freelancer. Articles get canceled and postponed and have to be rewritten. Editors leave. Magazines fold. But I love what I do. So I keep writing and continue to send in submissions and work on revisions and build my patience. And I never give up hope. Or faith. Hope and faith keep me going. So when March rolls around, check back for that article of mine.

P.S. Name the movie where one of the character’s lines is the title of this post.

Links

I’m in the process of giving my blog a small facelift, so hopefully you’ll notice some visual improvements within the next week or so. In the meantime, give Kristy and Crazy Trees and Pen & Inklings and Diary of a Dieting Diatitian a warm welcome to the blogosphere. They all joined recently.

And here's a blog for those with a Cleveland connection. I cracked up the first time I read this blog because the writer said – and I’m putting this in my own words, but he basically said he refuses to touch Starbucks with a 10-foot pole unless he has to buy a New York Times. That's pretty much the only reason I’ll go to into a Starbucks, too.

And have you come across Boothe’s blog yet? My brother told me about it because he went to high school with her. She and her husband recently lost a daughter to a genetic disease and she’s chronicling her journey. Her faith is inspiring.

Have a great weekend.

You've Got Mail

Fourteen hours door to door yesterday, but I’m finally home. It felt great to step inside. I walked around sniffing each room because our place smelled so nice (not anything fancy or special – simply like us).

Now I have to read my mail.

This morning, back in my regular routine of walking the dog, I started thinking of the summer’s top 7 highlights:

1. Falling in love with Montana
2. White water rafting with Ron along the San Juan River
3. Becoming re-addicted to coffee after 6 months of caffeine free days (oh, how I’ve missed it)
4. Working on home improvement projects at the ark with my dad (including kicking Squeaky's butt out the door)
5. Writing 3 personal essays with a fourth milling around in my brain
6. BBQ at my parents house with my entire family
7. Hiking to the Rim overlooking the mountains in the evenings after a warm, dry, sunny day out west (got another beautiful sunny day here in Virginia as a welcome home gift)

Homeschooling

If Ron and I are blessed with kids, I want to homeschool. I think it sounds like a blast (I’d love to spend days with my kids tailoring their education to their personal needs, not to mention relearning all those fascinating subjects I didn’t appreciate enough back in grade school). I don’t care if people think we’re "cuckoo heads" (the exact words of a little kid who overheard me telling his dad I wanted to homeschool). There are more and more cuckoo heads each day because the homeschooling trend keeps growing. One dad has written about it in the book Homeschooling: A Family’s Journey. Read my review of it here. While you’re at it, check out this month’s What Counts?

Landscaping Girl

Chop. Chop. Chop.

Last week, I pruned for the first time ever and found a lot of satisfaction in lopping off branches. Living in city apartments most of my adult life, I just don’t get to have this kind of fun. I was the pruning queen – the energizer bunny who kept chopping and chopping and chopping. At one point, I was afraid I had over-pruned and stripped the area bare, like the time I was 7-years-old and gave my little brother a haircut.

But in the end, it looked great. I should’ve taken a before, during, and after picture. But I only have during.