Victoria Advocate, A Different Perspective
As of this writing, I’ve almost reached the deadline for book 2.5 of my series, Romance in Valiant. It’s a forty-one-thousand word novella that fits between the longer books. I’ve mentioned before the main characters in this book were minor characters in books 1 and 2. Natalie and Silas got rather insistent about having their own story, so Glitter-Girl and the Grouch was born. It took a while, but I’m finally happy with it. And here’s hoping my editor feels the same way. Yeah, that whole biting my nails thing again.
The story plotting is complete. At this point, it’s all editing tweaks. Adjustments to the format matter—all the rest is simply nervous diddling. I’m looking forward to getting this deadline behind me. It will be absolutely lovely to work on other projects.
Our holidays blended into happy-sad moments. On the 22nd of December, we drove to Tyler to attend the Celebration of Life for a dear friend. Even though he’d had heart issues for a long time, his death was still a shock. It was special to see friends we hadn’t seen for years, but, of course, his passing was bittersweet for all. We also visited for a few minutes with our former pastor, though he doesn’t know us or anyone these days.
We had a wonderful time on Christmas Day with our daughter in New Braunfels. Her in-laws were there as well, and we’re all good friends, so that made it extra-special. While we usually have a traditional Thanksgiving at my house, Christmas dinner is always a toss-up. This year we enjoyed gumbo. Dave added to the menu with a cheese ball and homemade cinnamon rolls. I looked at a few broccoli casserole recipes, then threw together my version and … it was terrible. A few days later, I made another colossal flop, again, doing my own thing, so I’m back to using recipes. If I’m honest, I can remember my teenage children insisting I use the recipe instead of winging it. At sixty-seven, I really just need to face the fact that I’m not talented enough to go off-road in the kitchen.
Another disappointment was hearing our daughter-in-law’s visa was denied again, so we won’t get to meet her in person like we’d planned. I feel like the young wife in the movie who wanted to have a baby. In a very poignant conversation, she asked, “How can you miss someone you haven’t met yet?” Yet, there’s nothing else to do but wait, pray, and remember something our pastor says—“If it’s not good yet, God’s not done yet.” The heavenly perspective helps when my heart aches.
On a funny note, my daughter planned a family birthday party for Ellie, their youngest. Before it happened, Nancy sent pre-party videos—lots of purple balloons and presents—and told me about it over the phone. However, in the background, I heard her oldest daughter saying loudly, “There’s no cake!” Annabelle repeated it twice, wanting to make sure Mamaw understood it was a birthday party, but there was no cake.
In a small, frustrated-mama voice, Nan explained she’d had no time to make a cake, so she planned to take Ellie to HEB that evening and let her pick out her own cake. I assured her that would be perfect, even if Annabelle thought otherwise.
Haven’t we all had similar moments? When something doesn’t happen the way we think it should, we’re quick to jump in and point it out. Oftentimes, quite loudly. But a different way of tackling an issue doesn’t mean it’s bad or wrong. If we restrained our tongues and listened more, peace might reign instead of our own opinions.
Just sayin’…