This Ole House

I want to tell you a story involving a sunken Civil War ship.  There is another story I'd like to share with you about two sisters--who've never met--which is also set during the Civil War.

Writer's Block is not my problem.  Lack of time is occasionally a problem.  Three kids and a dog have a way of needing something when I could be writing, along with all of the volunteer gigs, meetings and chauffeuring that go along with said family.  Still, those are obstacles that can be overcome.

The real problem with getting those stories to you is The One that is in my way.  I started a story years ago with no clear idea where it would go.  I've picked at it over the years until last year, decided that I would absolutely whittle that sprawling mess into a story.  It has evolved so much over the last year but still needs so much.  I need to set it aside and work on a story I can finish--and maybe even sell.  Right?

I have been comparing my stories to homes.  If you have a finite amount of both time and money, the best bet might be to purchase a new or newer home that is complete and has no obvious issues.  There may be another house that you really love but it is much older.  Parts of that roof need replacing, it might not have air-conditioning--there are likely problems with the foundation itself.  But it has character.  It has history.  It speaks to you.  (Yes, I've done this to my husband every time we have moved.  We always end up with a new(ish) home that won't suck up all of our time and money but it doesn't stop me from pulling him over to a 150-year-old house, "just to look.")

Maybe that is why I can't let this crazy book go, or at least not yet.  It isn't just a little fixer-upper.  It is a messy, crumbling mansion with termites and a leaky roof.  The floors are slanted.  But I can work on it whenever I have the time and don't need to apply for a permit, get paint in my hair or even find goggles and gloves.  When it is all fixed up, there will be more to it: who knows what is hidden in the attic?

Listen up

'Cause we know sometimes words have two meanings.

Sometimes, you need to make sure you are hearing the right words.

After enough of my daughter's music this afternoon, I gratefully flipped back and forth through a few XM channels, confident that I'd find music that my 4-year-old son could sing (repeat) without any concerns.  While I rarely land on the 80's station, not much else was on my standard stations and I thought Bananarama was safe.  I drove home, oblivious to the familiar lyrics while I ran through the rest of my evening schedule in my head.  My son was happy--he liked the song and bopped along.  I thought all was well until he kept singing after I'd turned the car off.  As it turns out, other words rhyme with "Venus."

As I was composing this blog post, my older son came over to tell me about a conversation at school today.  If you read this blog often, you know my kids attend Catholic school and today was a day when Father visited the classroom.  My son wanted to let me know that Father instructed them to avoid "sidekicks" and mediums (as they practice black magic).