Day 87: Blogging For Beauty

#87

This was taken in the Fitchburg Burger King at 7 a.m.; it has been along time since I woke  up early and headed off for a conference.  But this morning we got up and were out before 6:30 and by Orange it was snowing.  There we were, headed for Boston in the snow on Rt. 2, but it's March 28th.  Then I started thinking about.  It is also Emma's older brother's birthday.  The night he was born I was unable to get to his mother because it was black ice between Greenfield and Concord.  Then, 2 years later, Emma's Uncle, Grampy and I had gone out to the Boston area on the birthday and 2 days before the family was leaving to go live in Japan. On our way home we hit ice.  We slid through Leominister, Fitchburg and Athol.  So, I guess, once again, our understanding of March and the coming on of spring is thwarted with memories and reality.  Snow is not unheard of in late March in New England. We made it there and back with no incident.  Thank you, Herb.   

Claudia and Max

I met Claudia today.  Funny we've been corresponding for a year, but just met.  I went to her presentation and tomorrow I will write about it.  Max is Claudia's son that she is in reunion with.  He was at the workshop, too.  I did get to talk to him a little bit.  So nice to see them together.   You will get to read about them in my book.  Made me so happy to meet them.

I also went to the panel discussion of Lost Daughters (www.thelostdaughters.com/), a group of adopted, women writers who blog and write about adoption issues.  I bought one of their anthologies today, Lost Daughters Writing Adoption From a Place of Empowerment and Peace,edited by Amanda H.L. Transue-Woolston, et al.  This is a remarkable group of women with multiple understandings of being a voice for adoptees and very engaged in making that voice audible and listened to and inclusive.  Their discussion was about inclusion and ending the meanness in the field, especially on social media without shutting up.  It was a very important discussion for me to hear, because I am so likely to shut up on social media in fear of being pounced upon.   I appreciated the discussion.

Being in a car with Trace for 4 hours made us develop all sorts of new projects.  I always have so much fun with an idea collaborator.  Not all of them will come to  fruition, but the ones that sing to us will rise to the surface and have substance.  Stay Tuned.

The Charles River in the snow in late March