Friday, November 02, 2007

Grace Eventually




Ahhh . . . . . a beautiful fall weekend ahead. I SOOOOOOO need it that I've taken a vacation day today (Friday) off to stay at home and spend time with my honey. We are SO needing our batteries recharged. Both of us have had a hectic fall. It's time to appreciate some much-needed downtime.


The trees aren't as beautiful as some years past . . . but a nice drive out in them will be wonderful. This is the peak autumn leaf weekend around these parts. So we may go look and appreciate the leaves because they are as good as they're going to get this year.



I read an absolutely fantastic book this week. Anne LaMott has long been one of my favorite authors, but I had the extreme pleasure of listening on CD in my car all week to the wonderful Ms. LaMott reading her book aloud. This book is a POWERFUL series of spiritual essays touching on all aspects of the personal stuff that a middle-aged woman goes through . . . coping with a rebellious teenager, facing challenging circumstances, the health crises and early death of friends, handling menopausal hormones and mood swings, being humble and apologizing when you lose your temper or do something really stupid. . . facing the nasty underside of one's personality while still loving yourself and others. This is a goldmine of spritual survival - at least for me. A shrink couldn't have prescribed a better book for me right now.

As a lifelong reader, and sometimes writer, I've always believed that books are interactive - that I can have mental conversations with authors and that there's nothing more exciting than interacting with a treasured author's thoughts, or in the case of fiction, with the fictional world they create. Anne LaMott is one of those authors I just CLICK with in a big way. I've met her in person at two different writer's conferences and had the pleasure of hearing her speak. It was a pleasure - even in a packed auditorium in August where the audience was squeezed together and the air conditioning was malfunctioning. Anne managed to hold our sweaty attention and keep us absorbed. She's a real pleasure and her gritty humor is the type that makes me laugh inside and out.

3 comments:

Carol said...

I am so glad that you and Bob could have this day off together. Sometimes it is just necessary.

I have worked so hard on the house this week that I am in St Louis with Nancy recharging.

Anonymous said...

Hey Ma, this is your daughter and your mother coming at you from Panera's.

WE rechared at Urban Outfitters, Oak Park, Nordstroms, Betsey Johnsons, and Brios!

Top THAT!
: )
We love you and hope you and dad are having fun, see you tonight.

P.S. You better have brought me home some good suvie's and brought back Domino in one piece!

Elysbeth said...

Sigh, sounds like another book added to my reading list. Glad you took the time to recharge. It's fab weather and perfect timing before holiday nuttiness.