R...S...T...

RST looks an awful lot like "REST" to me...and before you think that's what I've been doing these past non-blogging days, let me enlighten you as to my crazy weekend.

It involves standing in line for 20 minutes to get a free donut, chauffeuring for free sans the cool looking cap, drilling holes in my ceiling because of a new couch, and removing my closet light fixture because of a flooding bathroom.

The line to the cafeteria was long but worth it, my two daughters clutching my hands excitedly because I was there. The donut wasn't half as important as my presence that morning, joining the not so few and proud at Friday's Pastries for Parents. I slept well that night and awoke not only to the realization that Saturday was the day we would buy our new couch, but that my oldest would be coming home. I drove the youngest to a birthday party, while the others braved the airport to pick up our son. I rushed from the party at the exciting news that my couches were shortly making their appearance at my home. As the massive assemblage arrived through our door, we were forced to rethink where our TV would go. It took roughly three hours to make the changes we needed and necessitated new holes to reposition the surround sound speakers. Sunday brought the sunshine of happy church goers and bits of random raindrops to our pleasant morning; only the precipitation was taking place in my closet, having made its way down from the upstairs shower. Ten towels, one bucket, and a lecture or two later, we left for church clean and showered and a little bit wiser.

• R is for Remembering the good and bad times and the joy/horror in doing so. My life provides me with so much natural fodder, it's no wonder that I enjoy writing in the contemporary vein.

• S is for Show and how much more powerful it is in portraying a scene as opposed to merely retelling it. I could have just said that I went to Pastries for Parents Friday morning and that the line was insanely long to get one simple donut and some juice. But that wasn't why I stood in line. Showing involves meaning and purpose behind the action, and "showing" what's happening so that the reader can feel the importance of it as well.

• T is for Trouble and what every writer needs.  There's no question that at the heart of every story is some type of conflict; some aching need that must be met.  Even a Mom trying to tell her children she loves them by standing in line for a measly donut is a conflict when said person is claustrophobic. I love my children enough to put my own discomforts aside, and therein lies the victory for all of us. 

So go...enjoy life...and not just for the fodder.  Because in the end, we want books to inspire us to live. To give us hope. To fill our minds with possibilities. So we can act on them.

Go! Do! Live!

Have a Great Day. :)