Lil, my publisher, asked my next book be more about raising kids, so in keeping with the driving through the mountains comparision with navigating life, it’s working title is Falling Rocks! Raising kids, boys or girls, it doesn’t matter which, it’s like watching for falling rocks in the mountains while driving. And you never know when the next one will hit you and sometimes said rocks are the size of Buicks.
True story! If you’ve read my first book, Rounding the Curves, you know life handed me some freakin’ Buicks from my oldest’s, Jason’s, life, let alone all 8 of my other kids. We’ve had many accidents, which happens when you are active and sometimes when you aren’t! And sometimes rocks are the result of our choices, or due to those around you and sometimes just cuz.
Once I was driving at least the speed limit, eh hmm, through the mountains of Arizona on the way to get my younger kids from their older brother’s home. Just hauling along in the sunshine, happy with life and around a corner I came only to hit my brakes hard! Traffic was stopped cold in front of me for falling rocks. Except this one was clearly the size of a Buick, blocking both southbound lanes and into the inside northbound lane, too! Hence the comparison! ADOT hadn’t even gotten to the scene, so whoever it just missed sliding down the mountain and those first on the scene were likely praying hard thanking God for sparing their lives! I would have been anyway! Geez Louise! Wake up call!
As a mother, I’ve been through kid comas, Traumatic Brain Injuries, oodles of broken bones, roadrash, nasty wounds, break-ups, incarcerations, and divorce, grandchildren custody issues, job losses, cancer, surgeries, RSV, challenges living outside the USA and this is a long list… heart break, physical injuries and illness and so much. It’s hard enough to go through things personally yourself, yet when it’s your kids or grandkids going through things that’s a special kind of hell.
Falling Rocks is full of personal stories, from heartbreak to heartwarming and always with humor and authenticity, lessons learned and what helped me get through them at the time and recover thereafter. When book 2 is closer to publication I’ll let ya’all know…
Note: The lovely mountain watercolor painting is from Mary Korapanova, a beautiful and talented Russian artist.