A Moment To Breathe

I have hidden myself away in a coffee shop in Sun Valley, Idaho. Alternative folk/rock pumping through the speakers, the whirl of milk being steamed and shots being pulled for lattes and morning Sunday chat are the soundtrack for my day. My husband drove me into town to have some "writing time" and I'm giddy with the freedom.

An old wire fan blows on my back as sunshine spills through the old, red clay windows and I type away taking breaks to gulp hot coffee. It's a nice break from the forest where we've been staying.

We made camp in an RV for the last couple of nights in front of my in-laws rental home. At night we open the windows to let in the cool desert air and starlight. The moths (is there such a thing as moth season?) are everywhere, circling the porch light and the screens, wings clipping and snapping keeping time with the river behind us.

I like the forest, but I think I'm more of a townie/city girl at heart. I could do without the dust and biting flies. But I do enjoy the openness, the music of river and birdsong and loose gravel. Sean and I took a long walk this morning while the others slept in. We walked to a lake where anglers sat on a bridge with their poles, the smell of fish and hay lifting from the fields. We walked over flattened squirrels and snake skins and even avoided what looked like moose poop. Sean skipped and hopped asking me to spell the words, "parade", "November" and "Joaquin". Occasionally a car would ramble past us but mostly it was just us and the dog taking advantage of the cool, morning air.

This afternoon, though, I have made it into town. Back to writing in coffee shops, without much interruption and plenty of inspiration.

I am posting a link to an article I wrote this morning for Lifeclectic. Feel free to check it out. It's called Soul Surfing. http://www.lifeclectic.com/2011/08/28/soul-surfing/

To Do Lists

With summer coming to a close soon, I should really be tyring to enjoy and bask in the remaining days. But instead, I've managed to bury myself in tedious to do lists in a futile effort to keep everything "humming" along and maintain a sense of normalcy (whatever that is). While working on an article I discovered why I am feeling miserable and by no means, enjoying what is left of long sunny days and warm temps.

Below is the link to what I wrote and what I will be trying to "accomplish" going further. Forget the organizing and alphabetizing DVDs, cleaning out the utensil drawer and labeling my son's hockey equipment with a label maker (and why do I even own one -- who was I kidding?). I'm ready to embrace something larger, more important and worthy of my time.

http://www.lifeclectic.com/2011/08/18/list-substance/

A Published On-Line Article

I've recently started writing for an on-line magazine for parents by parents called Lifeclectic. I'm pasting a link to my first article published on August 9th. The title is What To Expect When You Are Not Expecting An Autistic Child.

I will still be active on my blog but wanted to share this website and the article in the meantime.

Here's the link: http://www.lifeclectic.com/2011/08/09/expect-expecting-child-autism/