Weekend?

On Friday I boarded a plane with my friend Ann and headed for New Jersey. I'm a member of New Jersey Romance Writers of America, so when they asked me to speak at their monthly meeting I was thrilled. I flew over, had a great dinner with Jamie, Mo and Marlo, slept like a rock in the hotel, and dressed to give my one-hour workshop.

It went well. Mostly because the audience was eager for the information. I have a great system for revising/polishing/rewriting a book after you've been rejected by editors or agents or asked by an editor or agent to revise, or just plain after you've finished drafting. So the information was timely and well received!

After the meeting we had an informal, roundtable discussion of revisions and it was a great opportunity for me to hear from some of the members.

Then I got back on a plane, flew to Pittsburgh, and drove for two hours to get to my house!

The next thing I knew it was Monday morning and I was at my desk, with a page goal to meet.

At first I was shocked. I felt like I hadn't had a weekend. But I had. I'd even spent it with friends. Talking about writing which is tons of fun. So I had a more relaxing weekend than my friends who are moms who work 40-hours a week, then spend Saturday and Sunday shuttling kids to T-ball and ballet, doing laundry, and cleaning house.

Like writing, parenting is tons of fun but exhausting. Of course, when I finish a book, I get a hundred print copies, do some PR, watch as it sells (or doesn't--shudder) and then move on to the next book. Parenting lasts forever.

I'll never forget the day at the Annual Petrunak Reunion, when my Aunt Helen explained to me that your kids may grow up but you're always their mother and you will spend the rest of your life worrying about them, cheering for them, giving them money. (The last one made my eyes pop!)

Over the years I've discovered my aunt was right. A mother is always a mother. But in some ways that's good because kids don't outgrow the need for a shoulder to cry on or an inexhaustable source of cash. LOL

But being a shoulder to cry on is sometimes a reward in and of itself. If your kids like and trust you enough with their secrets, then you've done your job. And hopefully they'll be such a great parent to their kids they'll also become a shoulder to cry on (and in fairness) an inexhaustable source of cash.


susan

Don't forget MAID FOR THE MILLIONAIRE is now available on AMAZON for preorder!