Catchy Title

The kids did very well recently. They always do well, you know, but recently there was a veritable Golden Age. My daughter participated in her school's Spelling Bee, and got Fourth Place! Amazing, right? She received a certificate for it, and lazy Dad that I am, it took until today for me to finally get it framed and hung up. So now, it is proudly displayed in the hallway, where we can see it every day, morning and night. And then, just yesterday, she told me she had played something called...okay, so I forgot what it's called, but it's some sort of on-line trivia game like the sort played in the finer restaurants and bars, the kind where you see a projected question and need to select the correct answer from the choices laid out on the laptop you are using (in the case of the bar/restaurant, it's the controller the establishment provides), but geared for her age and grade level. She came in first on the final game, beating the boy that had won two others! How about that?!

My son's done well, too! He earned an Growth Mindset Award for work he's been doing on Lexia, and he's working on his dissertation on the quantum effects of time dilation on an average earthworm. I might have made that last part up. I'm sorry. Actually, he's had his fair share of triumphs, too, lately. He's had great days at school learning about seeds and how they travel across countries and seas, and he made a paper propeller that spins when its dropped. He's really proud of that propeller, making it a point to tell me that he made it himself. I'm proud of him and what he's accomplished. Learning is important, and I love it when he demonstrates that he actually has learned something. Usually, when I ask him what he learned in school, he says he doesn't remember, but the night he showed me the spinner he'd made, he told me how coconuts float to different islands, and he told me he likes dandelion seeds because they're like little parachutes. I'm always glad to listen to what he has to tell me!

Oh, boy! I guess I haven't written in a while. I'm trying to perfect my outline while also trying to complete it. And, yes, I'm writing an outline AFTER I wrote most of the story already, and yes, I know that's like shutting the barn door after the cows have merrily ambled away into the snow, but this outline is my REWRITE outline (I tell myself) and it's supposed to keep me on track for the outline (I tell myself) and it's an easier way to keep track of character motivations (I tell myself) and unfolding events (I tell myself) and yes, I constantly berate myself for not thinking of an outline BEFORE I began writing the blasted thing and I'm constantly thinking of how much longer it is going to take to finally get the thing written and edited and proofed and ultimately sent out to the various publishers who will likely reject it, or to self-publish it, which sounds like a headache and a consumer of the precious little time that I can afford to spare. And, yes, I am having a panic attack, thank you. How's your day?

But seriously, I'm also working on things that'll make the book seem more real: slang terms used in that world and appropriate to the ranks and professions, a map of the world, the long-term story arc and where I want it all to end up, writing certain speeches as I want them to appear in the narrative, and other cultural things like the names of the days of the week (each day named after one of the gods, with the god's particular day the Holy Day for those worshipers), how many days are in a week in this world (there are twelve days to a week), the look of Holy Symbols and their associated glyphs in writing, and so on and so on. I want the book to be so real and so full that I'm afraid I'll never get it finished. Okay, another anxiety attack imminent! As usual!

So, that's where things stand so far. I'm very slowly plodding along, while the kids get ahead in leaps and bounds. As it should be. I do apologize for not posting regularly. I'm confined to the desk top to publish to the site, but I'm hoping to get something arranged so that I can do more posting on a mobile device. I think I'll be able to post more often and, besides, I'm more comfortable that way, anyway. So, here's to hoping. But, I will make more of an effort to post regularly. I'll have to leave myself sticky notes everywhere to remind me.

I feel like I should have some sort of "outro" to sign off with, but I really don't want to do that. I'd rather keep it fluid, as it were. So, until next time, when you decide to tune in to My Boring Life, have a great day! Or night, depending on when you view this. Or afternoon. Mid-morning? Evening? I don't know. You decide.

Bye.