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My workroom is a mess, but I’ve completed all projects on time, actually, a couple of days earlier than planned. My customers were pleased and very appreciative. A gigantic poinsettia is now displayed on our window, and a gift basket full of gluten and dairy goodness has been regifted to a neighbor’s home, and it will make their Christmas a bit heavier.
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My book “Losing It All” is now a hardcover, a paperback, and, of course, an eBook. Not just at Amazon globally, but also at Lulu and Barnes and Noble. What an exciting week it has been to see it all come to life. Fly, little book, I’ve set you free.
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I chose December 6th, Saint Nicholas Day, for my book launch, because it’s a special day for me. An homage to my childhood and my roots. A day so full of special memories. It couldn’t be more perfect.
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A monthly review, late as usual. September, a month full of surprises, life just the way it’s supposed to be. “My wife will divorce me,” a statement made by my husband at an eye exam. It’s so typical for him, but he meant it.
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Can what I feel right now ever be topped? I don’t think that’s possible. Today I witnessed something that I thought wasn’t doable. I was allowed to go back in time thirteen years ago and look at myself on that special night in May 2010.
I had spent all afternoon washing and wringing our clothes, and when our freshly cleaned laundry was hanging on the clothesline outside, I noticed the smell. The old, banged-up washer that had been given to us, wasn’t doing the job, and trying to do our laundry by hand wasn’t an ideal solution either. We needed to get a washer and dryer fast!
His smile gave it all away, he was beaming with joy. “Throw it all in the dumpster,” the manager had ordered when the company he worked for delivered new cubicles and panel systems, and that’s when my husband spoke up and had asked if he could take them instead. Before the day was over, he had written permission, stating he could take all the cabinets and worksurfaces.
My husband’s second paycheck, still under a thousand dollars for two full weeks of work, was celebrated the same way as the first one. We drove to the bank together, cashed the check, and back at home, we got the hidden cash out of the kitchen drawer. We called our landlord, asked him if he wanted to pick up the rent, and an hour later he parked in our driveway.
She invited me to stop at her little shop the next time my grandma and I would drive down to the village. “You come by and pick out what you want.” I could not wait. I had helped at our neighbor’s farm for days and even though I was young, my work and my assistance had been appreciated.
The second most important paycheck in my life was the one my husband brought home two weeks after we had moved to Memphis. Seven and a half months after we had lost our home and almost everything in it, we looked at the check and acted like children.