Moving On

My trip to the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writer's Conference came right on the heels of our final good-bye to our son before he and his wife move to the UK for three years. Talk about a lot of emotion within a few hours!

Our visit with Jason was a wonderful family time for us and him. He and his sister reminisced about childhood antics (some mom had never heard about before!), played Monkey in the Middle with a balloon (brought lots of laughter from granddaughter Madi), went out to dinner, worshiped together in church and later attended a church picnic. shared lots of hugs and "I love yous".

I drove Jason to the airport since his flight was due to leave at 3:00 PM on Tuesday and I was scheduled to fly out of the same airport to Phili at 6:00 AM Wednesday. It gave us a couple of hours of special mother and son time together. These were my deepest hopes as I saw him disappear past the security area: we love him and Jaque always, we are proud of them, we wish them the best, we are excited for the adventures ahead of them, and most of all, God loves them!

My trip to the writer's conference transported me from thoughts of family to the world of writing and companionship with writers. I knew ahead of time that another conferee would be on my flight from Dallas to Phili. We were able to sit together, but were both so tired that we cat napped for most of the flight.

The lady who met us at the airport is a sweetheart. I had no idea what it would be like to drive in this city. Suffice it to say I'm so grateful I didn't have to be behind the wheel! The 95 degree heat had us all drooping like wilted daffodils by the time we arrived and settled in to our rooms.
I was fortunate in that my room-mate had arrived ahead of me and kicked on the air conditioner. Ah, it was like a slice of heaven to step into this cool room!

I'm at this conference on faculty, representing Written World Communications. I edit one of their magazines, Starsongs, which is targeted to young people ages 9-19 and contributed to by youth of the same age.My room-mate also works for Written World and we formed the beginning of what I expect will be a close friendship right away.

The conference is held at a Bible college and the rooms are typical dorm rooms. Remember that air conditioning I mentioned? Well, we had turned it down before going to bed, but I woke up during the night freezing! My roomie was sleeping so well that I didn't want to disturb her and I couldn't figure out how to adjust the AC in the dark. I froze until morning.

My first full day at conference was rewarding. I've talked to so many people, both in scheduled appointments and casual conversations with old acquaintances from previous conferences and new ones I just met. It is fun to be on the "other side" of the table, where writers pitched their manuscripts and ideas to me for Written World.

I had an opportunity to talk to an editor about a manuscript that I and an (as yet) undisclosed collaborator are working on. The input was encouraging, although we will need to have some discussion and refocus our direction a bit when I return home. Still, I'm excited about this project. I said I would never write non-fiction, but since this manuscript is non-fiction, I've learned to never say never.

As always, Marlene has stellar speakers to inspire us and make us think about what we are writing and Who we are writing for. This morning, we had Dr. John Perkins, who spoke about social injustice. Talk about a spellbinding speaker! Oh my, I could have listened to him all day.

This evening, a panel of other speakers joined Dr. Perkins and talked about different social injustice issues. Each addressed their passion, from human trafficking to assisting the poor in NYC. I was tired, but didn't want to leave the session because it was fascinating to listen to these folks explain how they and their organizations are making a difference in the world.

I had every intention of coming back to the dorm and going right to bed, but that never happens at conference! A small group of folks were gathered around in the common area, and of course, my roomie and I joined the discussion. It is such fun to share writing successes, opportunities, hopes, and dreams with other writers.

As I wind down before heading off to bed, my thoughts turn to the opportunities that await. Jason and Jaque will face theirs as they begin adventures in a foreign country. I again have the choice to accept the opportunities that come my way with this conference. I have a strong sense that this will be an exciting year in many ways.

Thanks for reading my blog.