Whew! Last week was one of those busy weeks. Drove to Kentucky to see my orthodontist but still came back with braces. The good news is that we're almost there and we scheduled the "retainer" appointment. So when my book comes out, I hope to be cheezing profusely at a bookstore near you! :-) But that was a whole day of driving and completely wore me (and my back) out.

I went to a friend's baby shower yesterday. It felt so good to be able to do that. For the past 10 years, I have missed out on so much of my friends lives, first due to work travel, then to writing, publishing, promotiing and selling my book. I've missed bridal showers, weddings, baby showers, divorces, chasing down child support payments...you know, the cycle of life (just kidding). This is my friend's second child and the first time I've seen her pregnant. And this is actually the second baby shower I've been to since being back in St. Louis. A college buddy and sorority sister invited me to the shower for her third child. Showers are fun and cutesy. This time, the ladies made ME feel like a little star. I was a little down about not getting as much writing in as I wanted for the last couple of days. But I walk into the shower and just about every woman there had read my book and loved it. My friend, the pregnant lady, is a reader and a teacher and sold tons of my books to her family and co-workers. They actually were upset because they didn't know I was coming, otherwise they would have brought their books for me to autograph. I would have felt guilty because it felt like a book club meeting, except for the fact that the guest of honor was the one distributing my new postcards and telling everyone about my book and running down my bio. It was funny and I left there feeling better. The good thing about it is that I slept well and woke up to two new ideas to add to my novel.

And at least this time, I wasn't asked when I was going to have children (getting married seems to be optional these days and not a necessary duty if you want to give birth). Even at my age, I still just don't have that strong desire to push eight pounds of anything out of my vagina. And then the thanks I could possibly get for that might be backtalk, spontaneous behavior that either has me apologizing to other parents, the community, or possibly even the nation, or teenaged activity that brings back memories and makes me laugh on the inside while I'm scolding and reprimanding my child on the outside... Nah! LOL Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike kids. As a matter of fact, I think when the time is right, I hope to be able to adopt a child one day. One that is potty trained and can walk and is at least on the verge of verbal communication. See, now if they came out that way, I wouldn't mind having one. Then again, that would probably make them about three feet tall at birth, right? Never mind.