If you ask me, five weeks away from blogging is absence enough. Right after I posted the book trailer for Training Desire, I traveled by car to central Illinois to visit my dad who relocated there this past winter. He neighbors with my late mother’s younger brother and sister and my down-the-street cousins, so to say this was a family reunion is a bit of an understatement.
I haven’t visited central Illinois since I was a young adult, and it’s like rediscovering a part of the country I never developed a decent appreciation for in the first place. I enjoyed reconnecting with my dad and visiting with relatives. The weather was perfect, although the region had just come off a long bout of heavy rain. Farmers were still waiting for their fields to dry out and everyday the past without planting was a day of increased worry. By week’s end, we did see tractors out working so the situation had improved greatly.
We did a lot of Lincoln outings, visiting his house in Springfield and, to my surprise, learned that his father and stepmother had ultimately settled not far from where my mother grew up. I think we’ve now officially visited more than half of the official National Parks places associated with President Lincoln.
Returning from Illinois, I had only the slightest of breaks before I was off to attend Book Expo America. As American publishing’s premier trade show, it’s really something to behold. You might want to visit my other blog, Pursed Lips, to see what I came away with there.
Returning from BEA, I spent two weeks writing a new book proposal, a task that consumed me until I completed it. And wouldn’t you know it, but no sooner did I finish it then my son moved into his first official apartment. (Can you say “help me move, mom”?) It’s a big step for him, having lived for several years in independent living programs as a disabled young man. The lease is in his name along with his electric and soon to be established Internet accounts.
So that’s what’s kept me away, but now all’s said and done. I’m back and ready to blog.