Sunday, February 17, 2013

So, this was kind of awesome.

It's official! A Simple Romance is on the "coming soon" list at Dreamspinner.


I'm beyond excited and a little freaked out. *g*

You can check it out here!

Friday, February 15, 2013

Out of the mouths of babes...

My son told me about a conversation he had with one of his female friends (he's very careful not to call her his girlfriend...) the other day.  It went something like this:

Friend: What would you do if one of your best friends told you he’s bi?
Son: …Congratulate him?
Friend: No, seriously.
Son: What? Seriously.
Friend: It wouldn’t…freak you out a little?
Son: Why should it? He’s coming out and accepting himself and wants his friends to accept him. That’s awesome.
Friend: I don’t know…
Son: He’s one of your best friends, right? Being bi or gay doesn’t change who he is or what you liked about him. Really, it’s like…part of who he was all along, part of what made him the person you liked to begin with. Why should telling you make you feel any different?


As a parent, I've tried to raise my kids to be open-minded, good people. I'm so grateful that some of what I've tried to teach them has made a difference. He told me that, after they talked, she agreed that it shouldn't be a big deal and isn't going to change how she treats her friend. 

I only know a little about her and even less about the boy she was talking about, but I do know that they both attend the same church and I know that church doesn’t exactly embrace the LGBT community. I hope he has an easier time of it now, and that her example opens the door for other people to support him. 

My heart goes out to him, and all the other kids out there, treading water and waiting for a helping hand out of the deep end. Maybe if there are more conversations like the one my son had with his friend, there will be fewer tragedies.

One can hope, at least. 

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Positively hard to do.

A friend of mine is trying to go an entire day without saying anything negative or having any negative thoughts. Basically, you set a 24 hour timer and if you catch yourself having a negative thought or saying anything negative, you correct yourself and start your timer over again. I don't consider myself a negative person, so I thought I'd try it with her. HA. It's harder than it sounds. After resetting my timer 30-some odd times in less than a week, I gave up.

If you've ever watched the show Friends, it was a lot like Chandler trying not to make fun of his friends for his New Year's resolution. 

I was kind of shocked at how many "hidden" negative thoughts I have throughout the day. It really put a spotlight on the areas I need to improve my outlook. For me, a big trigger was traffic. I would have to reset that little timer two or three times just to run to the store. I won't even go into the trials of trying to shop for shoes with a positive outlook.

So, no, I didn't get through an entire day without a negative thought, but now, when someone cuts me off or drives fifteen miles an hour under the speed limit, instead of getting annoyed, I say things like "I hope that person gets home safely!" Or "Maybe the very slow person in front of me is saving me from having an accident." On particularly hectic mornings just that simple adjustment feels like a triumph but I've also noticed it seems to make my day go better.

If anyone else out there has tried this experiment, I'd love to hear how it went!