Saturday, March 5, 2011

Pieces of a Saturday

I finished my revisions and am just going over everything again before mailing the book off. The sparkly little thing is in fate's hands now.

It has been a tough couple of weeks with the kids being sick, and me suffering migraines for a few days straight. It's certainly not easy being a human sometimes. I'm just glad to have something to work on so the future will be a better place.

This week I had to go to a meeting for Julia, one of many she's had the last few years. It was tough. She's not talking to her classmates at school, she's not doing her work, she can't seem to focus. But when she comes home she's fine. There's just always been this filter in her senses that has trouble allowing the outside world in. It all gets scattered. I've thought many, many times that she was memorizing everything, and so it takes her longer to process all the stuff we toss out at first glance. Again, it was a rough meeting and I broke down, but that's life. I love Julia no matter what. She's my beautiful, brilliant girl and always will be.

That's about it. Hope everyone is in good spirits on this beautiful day.

10 comments:

  1. ...good morning Amy,
    I read your post, of your daughter's issues at school, and thought of my younger son. He's ten, manages B's and lower A's throughout the year, yet like your little one, struggles to focus on any one particular subject when overburdened. He figures it out in time, but patience is often a necessity...patience and an understanding tone of voice.
    He sees his brother's straight A report card and he scowls. Listens to his sister brag of a perfect spelling bee, and he sulks off to his room.
    And so I tell him, that's why he's special...that's why I find myself pulling for him just a bit harder. And like your daughter, he's a great kid, and they'll both be fine. This world needs kids like ours:)
    Good luck with that MS!
    EL

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  2. Look Amy, some kids are naturally gregarious, and some just ain't! That doesn't mean they're missing out on anything; just that they probably prefer their own company!.... and in most cases I don't blame them.

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  3. Elliot, thank you so much for the shared insight and kind words—it means a lot to me. It's comforting to know I'm not alone in this! I love how you said you pull for your son more than the others, I think that's a very honest thing to say, and so true.

    Karen- Thank you for all the help you've given to get me where I am right now!

    Thanks Cro. I think we spoke before about some kids just being artistic in nature, and, you're right, that's not a bad thing to be! xx

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  4. Amy I have missed you a lot this week. It's great to hear from you again. You sound as though the last couple of weeks have been hard. The meetings too sounded gruelling and distressing. Precious little Julia and Liam too. The most important thing in the world to her is that she is your brilliant beautiful beloved daughter and always will be. Let her hold fast to that. I am keeping everything crossed for your manuscript. I wish you everything you wish yourself. Thank you for your sweet comment on my blog. Love you xxxx

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  5. Oh Molly, thank you so much. I love you too! xxxxx (I threw an extra one in there for effect, haha)

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  6. I really wish you the very best. Isn't it exciting now that it's send off? I bet you're awfully nervous now. Or maybe not?

    What was the biggest change you did in this last editing stage?
    Nahno ∗ McLein

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  7. Nahno, thank you for the well wishes! It is kind of nerve-wracking, but at the same time, a huge relief. I cut over 10,000 words--many of them from the first draft. It can see how cluttery they were now, and how little they added to the story. Basically, I worked hard to take out fluff words, like too many adverbs. The biggest change I made was collapsing the first few chapters into one--per publisher's request. That was hard! After that I made my own executive decisions to cut anything that did not advance the story. Whole scenes left--some of them my favorites. I also changed little details to make parts of the story stronger. All in all, I'm happy and feel the manuscript is clean and tight.

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  8. Family stuff. Your daughter's struggles brings back memories. My brilliant oldest daughter was a hermit for over three years; didn't go to school (didn't graduate from h.s.), didn't go anywhere except church on Sunday to teach 3 year olds. Now she's a mother of six! And reads history voraciously, with a steel-trap mind that remembers everything! They do make their way somehow.

    It sounds like your revisions are strong. That is SO exciting!! I'm happy for you.

    And thanks for stopping by my blog today, on a rainy day at our place. Rain is good.

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  9. Thanks for sharing that Ann—I love that your daughter reads voraciously like that. Maybe she'll become an author like you someday!

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