Write From the Soul 18

Am I in Massachusetts or Georgia? Since the 9th of February, I've spent most of my time in Boston with Mom and her now healing kneecap. (By the way..... she will come back home tomorrow and will finish PT- pain and torture...er, I mean physical therapy- at home.)

Anyway, I took a break this past weekend, came back to GA and went to stay in a hotel where the SpringMingle  SCBWI writers' conference was being held. The conference was awesome and as inspiring as last year- my first conference- but what a difference a year makes!

Last year.....went alone, knew no one, found it kind of difficult to connect to people.
This year..... had an unknown  roommate who turned out to be fun and sweet and a talented writer, knew at least a dozen people (from blogs, events attended this year), and found it fairly easy to talk with others.

Last year's career progress....... slim and none, except for 50 business cards in hand.
This year's career progress....... web site, blog, NEW business cards, connection to core players in Southern Breeze because I offered to help and volunteered to assist at conference, as well as 4 stories written and beginnings of 2-3 more.

The speakers at SpringMingle are always motivating. I want to dive back into my writing and just write, write, write! Of course, it doesn't help to be flying between states so much. Of course, if I had a laptop, it would all go with me.

I'd love to buy a laptop. I want to buy a laptop. But I also want to go to the national SCBWI conference in Los Angeles at the end of July and that will cost at least $1,000- $1,500 between flights, hotel, and conference costs. Retiremnet on a teacher's pension means making some choices and I want to go to that conference more than I want the laptop. I guess the writing will have to be done in a notebook and transferred to the desktop for now. Not exactly 21st century technology but it will have to do.

Here's hoping tomorrow will bring scheduled flights that don't get cancelled so I can wing my way back to Massachusetts. I think I'm really in the state of Confusion!

Write From the Soul 17

I feel like I've been out of touch for months even though it's only about a week. Instead of blogging, I've been writing nightly updates to 10-15 people concerning my Mom's progress after breaking her kneecap and having surgery. She's been in a rehab center for 9 days now and has progressed from spending the whole day in a "johnnie" (hospital gown) to being dressed, walking with a walker down to the rehab gym, climbing a full flight of stairs, and transferring herself from wheelchair to walker and from walker to a bed. I am soooooooo awed by her determination and stamina at 86 years old! Go Sylvia!!!!!!

So you know what my Mom is doing at rehab....how about me???
Here's a typical day for me:

1. Arrive between 9:00 and 10:00 AM and stop in to rehab gym to greet Mom and smooze a few minutes with OT and PT.
2. Put away folded clean clothes I washed and grab the dirty clothes.
3. Walk around the center and greet care workers we've come to know, unit secretary, nurses.
4. Depending on amount of sleep night before, possibly take a quick cat nap on Mom's bed while she's working hard in the gym. (I know, I know, that's pitiful and so uunfair.)
5. Sit in room and chat with Mom about an hour or so until her lunch arrives and we have to analyze what she can eat and what she WILL eat. Oh, and i eat the lunch I brought with me.
6. Watch two local channels' newscasts. 
7. Read some. Sometimes Mom dozes off. Sometimes I doze off.
8. Whenever Mom takes a bathroom break, I zip down to the "Day Room" computer, check her email, my email, check out a few things on Google, then head back to the room.
9. Depending on sleep amount, maybe take another short nap on bed while Mom reads in wheelchair.
10. Get a ride back to my Mom's house between 4:00-5:00. Wash the dirty clothes to bring back.

As you can see, not a really stimulating day of activity! Of course, some days, the nurse practitioner comes in, or a doctor, or the dietician, or the social worker. Then, I'm "on patrol", gathering all the facts and information to bring back to share with my sister. Most days, there's also a pep talk to keep Mom motivated to do the hard work in order to demonstrate that she will be ready to go home and care for herself. Some days, I have to be the taskmaster, other days, the jokester to keep her smiling. When I offered to come in and help, I was willing to do ANYTHING necessary to get Mom back to her level of normal, including sacrificing my plans in Atlanta.

I'm returning to Atlanta for a writers' conference Friday through Sunday and I'm excited. Partly because the conference is so invigorating and inspiring, and makes me want to write better. Partly because I need some mental stimulation after 14 days of sitting in a hospital room and now a rehab center room.

I will be returning to Boston for another 10 shift with Mom while my sister and bro-in-law work and the nephews go to school. But I think the hardest part is done and after another week in rehab, she will get to go home.

Going home........ I'm looking forward to that myself, even if it's only for a weekend :-)