Finding Ground…

Sometimes, when there are challenges before me, it can feel like swimming in an ocean, not sure when, or if, you’ll find a place to stand. You strive and try, only to fail and have to strive and try again. You become tired. You are short with your friends, and always, that uncertainty. Will I succeed? Will I find my way out of this? Will my children; my friend; my lover be all right?

But life is kind, even when it’s most cruel. There is a way out of things; an end where you put your feet down, almost afraid to try, and you find ground. Sometimes, my reaction is, ‘How long was that there? If I’d only tried, would I have found it sooner?’

Amelia and Sean’s coming is a return to the easier days when Sookie and Breandan’s relationship was new. Sookie, who is so new at relationships, sees their current troubles as the problems that are overcome by the heros and heroines in her novels, but, of course, this is real life and things don’t wrap up so easily with a red bow. Her eyes are drawn to another, and she can’t admit with her heart is telling her.

What’s more, her life is about to become even more complicated. Amelia and she take off on a field trip to track down paperwork, and in the process, Sookie finds out she has more relatives.

Thank you, Ms Buffy! You are the most amazing beta editor a woman could wish. I will be writing you back, today. I’m off to Nashville on business, and that means lovely downtime in airports. I hope you are doing well and enjoying all those weddings!

And thank you to all my readers. I will reply to comments. I have hit an extraordinarily busy moment in my life. Boys to sort, I am moving, so there’s packing and packing. I started volunteering as a boundary monitor on the Appalachian Trail, which means a day spent tramping through dense woods looking for survey marks 1-2 times a month, and, of course, mead making, music playing and work. A life well lived, but one that is a little too hectic for me at the moment! I am busily writing future chapters. My current is titled ‘Mrs. Northman’, so there’s the spoiler.

I hope you have a wonderful week.

Chapter 15 – Finding Ground

Reaching Through…

Happy Sunday to everyone. I hope this finds you well. In the United States, it’s Father’s Day. I hope all who still have a father in their lives take the time to celebrate that person. We may fight, or disagree, but there is something to family and the bonds of blood. It is easy, sometimes, to look past those who are always there for you, but it is our parents, and those who step into that role, that have the hardest job. They protect us, pay for us, and lavish us with their best intentions, and then they push us away, like birds from a nest, to fly on our own. Often our reaction to this launch is not positive, but I remember it for what it was – the ultimate act of love.

Ms Buffy, my thanks to you! You’re the best!

Chapter 14 – Reaching Through

Eyes Wide Shut….

Cracks are beginning to appear in Sookie’s Irish romance. She begins to see that Breandan may not be everything she thought, and what better time for a certain vampire to make himself known?

Hope you enjoy the beginning of the second act of this stroll through fairy tales and myths.

Best to you, Ms Buffy! I hope that a trip to Ireland is in the cards for you some day. I think you’d love it!

Chapter 13 – Eyes Wide Shut

The Sun Shines…

Giving yet another lie to the weather forecast. Climate change has invalidated models. Science will learn new algorithms, but until then, it’s time to rely on the clouds and the taste of moisture in the air. In other words, everything old is new again!

As I sit today, I’m comfortably uncomfortable. June 3rd was National Trails Day and I celebrated by working with the Boundary Warden patrol here in Connecticut. The job is locating and reporting the status of survey markers placed to delineate the boundaries of the Appalachian Trail. What’s a marker look like?

This is a New Hampshire marker, but you get the idea. Short, small and you need a surveyor’s map and familiarity with orienteering and compass, not to mention being comfortable in the woods to find them. Think of it as treasure hunting for nerds.

Of course, now I’m celebrating with Advil and a third cup of coffee. There’s another hot bath on my horizon, and happy to report, no ticks.

I hope your Sunday is equally adventurous! My best to the incomparable Ms Buffy – may today’s unexpected sunshine warm you well!

And to my readers, I thank you and hope you enjoy this next installment. For those of you asking, “Where’s Eric?” One chapter away!!

Thanks!

Chapter 12 – The Turning Season