Merry Solstice

December 21st – Lesli’s birthday. That’s what this date has always meant to me, as far back as I can remember. Born 51 days before me, Lesli was the one who first clued me in about Winter Solstice -- that this is the shortest day and longest night of the year. She would have been 46 today. Happy Birthday, Lesli, you angel you! And Merry Solstice, too.

Here we are, Lesli and I, circa 1977. Were we not babes? Lesli’s spirit guides my writing of 50 Ways to Leave Your 40s. She, my very first friend in the world, left hers the hard way, succumbing to pancreatic cancer at 44. Lesli showed courage, grace and good humor to the end, and left behind two children, including a daughter the age of my very own, whose 9th birthday I missed in order to rush home to say good-bye.

Lesli’s sunny blond visage peers out at me now, from the wall above my computer, like those team photos in the trophy cases of the movie "Dead Poets Society," whispering “Carpe diem.” Not really something Lesli would say, I don’t suppose. “Shit or get off the pot!” would be more like it. But it comes down to the same thing, doesn’t it? Tick-tock, y’all! What’s gonna be your life’s biggest thing? If you were to get a diagnosis like Lesli’s, what would you do with the time you had left? If you could glimpse your own obituary – hey, you know the day is coming! -- what would it say? Not to be too morbid or anything, but this IS the longest night!

Let your heart guide you as you “Blog Me Back” about “where you’re at” in midlife. Can we agree that your choice to post a response indicates your permission for me to use it (or portions thereof) in my book? If not, you may want to “hold your thought.” One o' these days, I'll develop a permission form for "blog-me-backers" to sign electronically. Until then, consider this a leap of faith -- and be sure to laugh before you leap!

Whether you've come to play or just to watch, I thank you for visiting my blog and for reading this deeply. Spread the word! And do have an extra snuggly night tonight, since it’s sure to be the longest.

Love (and I do mean Love)
Sheila

I Owe It All to Judy Reeves

2/10/04 -- My 44th birthday, and what did my husband and children give me? Two books (actually, one book and one kit) by my friend Judy Reeves, namely, A Writer's Book of Days and A Creative Writer's Kit. Lucky me!

Judy Reeves is the reason my own book project got picked up by New World Library. NWL is Judy's publisher, and it was she who got my proverbial foot in the door with her editors over there. So this is just a quick post to say "Thanks, Judy!" and to plug not only these two titles I got for my birthday a couple years ago, but also the ones she's written since: Writing Alone, Writing Together and The Writer's Retreat Kit. In the immortal words of those old Alka-Seltzer commercials, "Try it, you'll like it!" -- IT being any one of Judy's works. (Find out more by clicking on the New World Library link, which you'll find in the left column near the top of this blog.)

Happy Holidays, by the way. Hope all's yummy and cozy where you are.

Love, Sheila

Well, it's about darn time!

Just start blogging. That's it. There's nothing else for it. Diane, for one, will be so pleased. So will the women from my writers group -- all two of them. (Hi Marianne, Hi Sue. Look, I'm blogging!)

Diane, btw, is my Webster Woman -- a fitting moniker and not just 'cuz she keeps the "50 Ways to Leave Your 40s" website looking buff. Diane is also "my" Webster in a dictionary sense: She being a thoroughly schooled librarian, there is nothing she can't find! And she does so -- always -- with enthusiasm and good cheer! So let me begin my blog by thanking Diane with a phrase as worn as a hundred-year-old quilt: "I couldn't do this without you."

Thanks, too, to Marianne and Sue, whose verve for blogging was instantly contagious. You can check out their blogs at www.mariannepowers.com and www.moodmovie.blogspot.com, respectively. But right now I have an insistent 8-year-old at my elbow, in need of his mother's attention, so off I go.

More soon!
SK