Bigs

Personal News:

Before meeting our Little Brother for Big Brothers Big Sisters, I found it difficult to concentrate. I tried to meditate, which lasted about five minutes before I stood suddenly, thinking my hair wouldn't dry in time. Then I realized I had a half an hour left. I dried my hair and still had twenty minutes. Chris checked his work email, then read news, then checked his work email. I opened up my Luminosity games and started playing (I'm getting better, but oddly enough my ability to do tasks speedily sucks ass).

When we looked up the address, we were shocked. The kid lives in an apartment complex that is on the way to work. I go to work around 6:45 a.m., and there are usually kids outside this very complex playing chicken with the cars that go by. I'm usually all fist shaking and "damn kids, get out of the road," and I realized that our new little brother might be one of them!

We drove slowly. We couldn't find parking, so walked up to the door a few minutes late after hitting a few dead ends and getting turned around. When we entered, there was the family. All four of them. There was the case worker. And just that fast, we sat on the couch, met our Little and his older brother; we talked about his football league (he's 8), his love of fish, and his aversion to sushi. We joked with him, and he laughed. His Mom was cool, laid back, and told us what he liked and didn't like. He loves sports (not just football), she said. Mom's eyes lit up when I told her I taught creative writing because his one tough subject is English, and she seemed flexible and open to our ridiculous work schedules. Grandma told us stories. I think this is going to work. I really do. Our first outing will be Labor Day tennis and lunch. And the nerves are gone. Let's do this! I probably won't post about him much, but every now and then we'll check in. The journey has begun.


Writing News:

I spent some time reworking a 5,200 word story that has been a pain, and I think I'm getting there. A good friend, Michelle Elvy, gave me a lot of perspective, so my interest is renewed.

A young adult press has shown some interest in my novel after reading the first 50 pages, so I've sent it on to them. Fingers crossed. Realistic hopes.

Looks like I'll be appearing in Short Story America Volume Three! Sweetness! If you write, the press is currently looking for submissions for a short story contest.

I am beginning a new novel this weekend. Rattle. Wallace. Together. We'll see what happens.

That's all I got this week. On Monday, I'm reviewing an album here. This is something I've never done. The album is Americana, a type of music I rarely listen to (rarely means when I watch Sons of Anarchy, sometimes it's in the background), so it should be interesting.

Have a beautiful weekend! -Jen