another blessed and glorious day…

today was another blessed and glorious day.

i spoke with a writer friend of mine. she’s having problems finding work.

so many of us are.

it’s sad. i hope things will get better.

until then i want to focus on helping those i know and encounter in hanging in there surviving–giving them what i’d want and need when i’m struggling.

my friend spoke of a friend. the relationship sounded interesting, reminded me of a short story i’ve read, and liked, by jhumpa lahiri.

my friend expressed having difficulty writing. they’ve have a couple novels and novellas published.

i suggested they write a story based on the relationship with this friend and the dynamics of the relationships in their friend’s life.

i hope my author friend writes the story.  it would be good. and i’m excited to read it.

it would also be timely.

i tried to give my author friend what i have needed in the past when things have been difficult, when life with all its worries and curves swerved even sharper, and what i have received in some way.

interestingly enough i got an idea about a story i could right.  it was totally unrelated to what my friend had been sharing about their friend.

again, i hope my friend writes the story.

when we give without thinking we receive so much in return.

i really hope they write the story.

how’s your writing going?

how are your relationships with friends and family going?

interesting and blessed day…

interesting day…

i interviewed novelist, Thrity Umrigar, on her latest work, The Weight of Heaven.

such a nice person.

then i wrote several blogs about her.

south asian writers have so influenced me–Jhumpa Lahiri, Lavanya Sankaran, Manil Suri, and of course, Thrity Umrigar.

i wish more black and african americans read their work.

we could certainly benefit, just as thrity stated that she has benefitted tremendously from reading the african american icons of literature–toni morrison, alice walker, and then there are those such as margaret walker alexander, richard wright, edward p. jones.

…

after checking my e-mail i went to the hair shop.

hadn’t been in over two weeks.

time in Maui left my hair in need of some conditioning and a  press and curl…

had dinner with my husband…

that’s always nice.

we talked about the children and other things.

eating together and talking…that’s what I’ll miss the most when one of us dies.

overall it was a nice day.

thanks be to God, the universe, whoever orders things.

i’m grateful to be able to feel blessed.

another day…

wow! i am really tired.

and there’s been so much death lately, Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, E. Lynn Harris, Eunice Kennedy Shriver and others…

it’s a lot. and then I’ve had some friends to pass on.

i’m glad a i have children. never thought they would give me this much hope, but they do.

and they don’t even know it.

i love my writing. but my family makes it all worth while.

i’m not feeling much up to writing these days.

still trying to settle back in from Maui.

it was so great there.

i miss hearing the waves, falling to sleep to their beating against the shore at night.

and then there were the children’s voices crying out with glee during the daytime.

again i am grateful–for this gift of writing, and always, my family.

what are things like for you right now?

how are things going with your writing?

settling back in…

just back from two weeks in Maui. had a great time. was in the water every day.

went to sleep hearing the waves splash upon the shores. read “The Weight of Heaven” by Thrity Umrigar and began Audre Niffeneggar’s, “The Time Traveler’s Wife“.

all-in-all it was a wonderful and restful time.

things are quiet here at home.

the children start school next week.

i want to hold on to the peace that we bring back each year from Hawaii.

i try, each year. and each year it dissipates.

i’ll start writing when the stress sets in. and which should be soon.

i suppose that’s how it is for us writers. we craft stories to conquer stress. but it never dies, the anxiety of being alive.

an so we write and others read.

what do you do conquer stress?

how does writing help?