Friday Random

Random Personality Test of the Week: Go look at your movie collection... what kind of movies do you watch? Glancing at mine the other day I realized I have a very eclectic selection. Anytime your movie night choices are a toss up between Pride and Prejudice and Bourne Identity - and you're the only one watching - you have to admit to a certain dichotomy on your lifestyle.

What I really want is P&P done in space with explosions. I'd be so happy.

Random Reality Check of the Week: The hardest lesson for a mother to learn is that their child is an individual. Babies are so full of promise. You lie there, holding this cuddly bundle of joy, and from the moment they first blink those big brown eyes at you, you can picture everything. Their first word, their first day of school, prom night, college, your child curing cancer and running for president. And then they learn to crawl and you realize the little bundle of joy may have other plans, like planning the world's largest bank heist or becoming a rock star.

My Eldest is 6, she's in first grade, and I adore her. I'm a reader and a writer, so naturally it follows that my daughter would be just like me. She'll love reading! She'll be at the top of her class! It will be wonderful. We'll co-author something when she's in her teens and it will be a sensation!

But for the past two years Eldest has struggled with reading and verbal skills. Her math skills are off the charts (I'm frightened, I hated math), but the English language is a mystery to her. This week she was diagnosed with an Audio Processing Disorder, almost verbal dyslexia. What you say, and what her brain processes, are not the same thing.

As nice as it is to know why we've had these problems I'm upset that my baby has to go through this challenge. She's such a sweet girl, and I pictured such a flawless future for her. Struggling with her native language was not something I wanted for her.

Reality is that we can't make our children's lives perfect. Having money won't make their lives better. Being a devoted parent won't keep them from getting colds or having fights with friends. No amount of work or wishing can keep our children from hitting bumps in the road.

I'm pretty sure this applies to our books too. We send the proverbial "baby" out only to have the novel rejected, or critiques slam it, or it gets placed on the shelf only to collect dust. The bumps and low points are part of life. For us. For our children. For our work. When you hit one, you just have to keep going.

Random Progress of the Week: I have almost 8k added to my current WIP. I'm dragging through chapter three, as always, but I'm really excited. This is a very solid novel. It has depth and dimension that some of my earlier works lack. It isn't fluffy. And by chapter three the body count is still zero. That's a first for me.


So........What's your random?