Flash Fiction - New Level of Lazy

Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, typically only a few hundred words or fewer
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt...
The Prompt: This was taking "not giving a shit" to a new level
Disclaimer: My word processor broke so my word count is WAY off for this one... OOPS!

Nick leaned on the shovel, surveying his crew. "One, two, three..." He grimaced and counted again. "Where's Luke?"
The orange clad men stretched the wire to mend the fences. Hammers clanged in the morning air.
He turned, his heart sinking into his stomach as he surveyed the roiling water a hundred feet below. As crew foreman, he was responsible for the safety of his men. Nick reached for his radio, ready to call for help when he noticed an orange flag making it's way through the sagebrush. The little RC truck broke into the clearing carrying a small bucket of fencing nails. Nick's jaw dropped open and his gaze looked up at the truck. Luke sat in the shade, a beer in one hand and the RC remote in the other. This was taking "not giving a shit" to a new level.

Flash Fiction - Investigation

Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, typically only a few hundred words or fewer
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: All that was left was a recording of them arguing. On loop.

The car door slammed. Darla looked over her shoulder and groaned as the chief spoke. "What do we have?"

She sighed. "Not much, Chief. Everything is toast except this drive." She twirled the charred thumb drive between her fingers.

"What's on it?" His eyebrows lifted in expectation, or was it apprehension?

She snorted and rose to her feet. "All that was left was a recording of them arguing. On loop."

"Arguing? About what?"

She grinned. "Planting bombs. Plenty of unsolved mysteries resolved in one tiny thumb drive."

His jaw dropped. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. You look a bit worried, Chief.."

Flash Fiction - The Follower

Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, typically only a few hundred words or fewer
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: She had followed the woman for days

Daisha’s eyes widened as she stepped from the trees. As far as she could see, tall grasses waved as if tickled by the breeze. She blinked, confused. She had followed the woman for days and now, in the space of mere moments the hag disappeared.
“Where is she?” She whispered, knowing only the leaves could hear her.
A dissonant cackle rose from the base of a gnarled tree.
Daisha whipped around.
“Following me, are ye, lass? Tis a stroke of bad luck ye wish?”
Daisha stumbled backward. “Nay. I but wanted to know more.”
“More?”
“Aye. More of the story.”

Medical Mumbo Jumbo

We went to the Nephrologist’s office. The good news is that Jaydon has GROWN!!! He’s at 111 lbs and is 5 ft 4 1/4 inches tall! His kidney function went from 19% to 22% all because he grew so much! He’s ON THE GROWTH CHART! He’s totally stoked that he can use the Adult sized blood pressure cuff now.

The bad news is that his creatnine levels are still above 3. Normal for him is down around 2, maybe a 2.5… We need to push liquids - a lot. He doesn’t have any dietary restrictions. He just needs to EAT. Pack in the calories - as many as possible in a day.

He and his brother have been working hard all summer, doing odd jobs, earning money. And then we lost both our dogs. They left their tracks on our hearts as they crossed the Rainbow Bridge. It’s been hard - especially for Jaydon because NeeCee was his companion, his service dog, his best friend.

I wasn’t entirely sold on getting a new puppy. There’s the training, the time, the frustration. The whole package. And then I looked at my son and saw the beginnings of withdrawal again. I caved…. The boys decided to pool their money and asked me to help find a puppy. They were very specific. They wanted something trainable, loveable, cute, and fun. Something they could train to hunt (we don’t hunt with dogs). Something they could have fun with.

I showed them videos of agility trials and long jumping dogs. They were immediately sold & started making plans. They browsed the ads on KSl (the paper out of Salt Lake City). They found an adorable 7-week old Llewellin Setter. He’s like an English Setter or Irish Setter but more of a heritage breed. Very trainable. Totally loveable. Just plain cute! He has been a blessing - for all of us. There has been a wonderful shift in the mentality in the entire house. So much laughter and love!

We also made the decision to adopt my dream dog. Arwen is a 7year old Sable colored German Shepherd Dog. She is amazing! She has helped with a lot. Teaching us and the new puppy things. Helping keep us all active. Bringing even more love and laughter. The kids' favorite thing about her - besides the fact that she's a "cop dog" is the fact that she LOVES to play fetch.

All in all Jaydon has been doing good. And then, his foot started to hurt. My mind immediately jumped to the worst case scenario - he broke it or it’s due to the growth hormones and he’ll have to stop, there’s something else horribly wrong with his kidney causing pain and swelling... You know it’s bad when he almost begs to go to the doctor. We went to our local PA. Dr Joe did several tests and I started to question the hurt because he wasn’t acting like anything hurt, just a minor twinge here and there. Dr Joe had Jaydon stand facing away from him with his shoes off. He looked at me and looked at Jaydon’s feet. Even I could see the issue.

Jaydon’s arches have fallen. He’s walking on the inside of his foot. What shouldn’t be weight bearing is. Thankfully, we caught it fairly quickly. Thankfully, it’s one of those fixable things. Because he’s been on a year-long forced growth spurt, his joints and arches haven’t been able to keep up how we want them to. He is on his way to a few stores to see if we can find a semi-rigid arch support insert for his shoes. He has a set of exercises that he needs to do daily. We’ll go back in roughly 3 months to see how he’s doing with the inserts. If this doesn’t work, they’ll talk about surgery to correct it. Yay! Another surgery! I’m sure you can all feel the sarcasm dripping from that statement.

We’ll keep carrying on, thankful for minor miracles and silver linings.

Flash Fiction - Breaking Down the Door

Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, typically only a few hundred words or fewer
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: I finally kicked down the noisy neighbors’ door

“Tell us again, Ethyl. What happened?”
She shifted, dust curled about her feet. “Well, it was a night like this one. The clouds blocked the light from the moon.” She paused to take another bite. “A ruckus came from next door. All sorts of banging and clanging and cussing.”
“And then what happened Auntie Ethyl?”
“I hopped the fence to see if I could help at all.”
“And then?”
“And it got even worse. I thought for sure someone would die.”
“What did you do?”
“Well, I finally kicked down the noisy neighbors’ barn door. They got a new bull.”

Writing Wednesday - Aberration?

Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, typically only a few hundred words or fewer
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: He wasn’t an aberration, but he was certainly abnormal

His muscles bulged and rippled as he flexed. His grin widened as her shocked face came into view.
“Gordon! What…” The question froze on her lips.
He waggled his eyebrows. “I think we should go inside the FunHouse.”
She groaned.
“Maybe one of these mirrors will rub off and I’ll actually come out looking this good.”
“Fine.”
An hour later she turned to ask a question, instead the words seemed to be caught in her throat.
“What?”
She pointed to the bathroom.
He ran inside and stopped short. He wasn’t an aberration, but he was certainly abnormal. “What just happened?”

Flash Fiction - Which One?

Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, typically only a few hundred words or fewer
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: Whichever path he chose would ruin someone’s life

 Sam looked between the cells. His heart ached. “Only one?” Whichever path he chose would ruin someone’s life.
The matron walked past again. “Have you made a decision?”
Noise echoed through the hallway. Sam cringed. “Now quite. How do you choose just one?”
She smiled. “It’s hard. I’d take them all home if I could.”
He sighed. “I’ll take the German Shepherd.”
She nodded. “Good choice. Gunner only has one day left. You’ll save his life.”
“And the lab?”
“Shooter stands a great chance of getting out of here.”
Gunner grinned as if he knew he’d just been saved.

Flash Fiction - Sneaky Devil

Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, typically only a few hundred words or fewer
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: She’d got him wrong, but that was her loss

Two faces peered at her through the fence. “What the heck! I separated you guys last night!” She sighed and made her way to the gate. The grain slid from the bucket into the trough. Blossom and Hart both raced to the gate, pressing against it with their heads, begging for release. Begging for the sweet feed that beckoned, gleaming in the morning sunlight. “No milk for me, I guess.”
Hart was supposed to be in the pasture, not the pen. The sneaky devil was learning the routine way too fast. She’d got him wrong, but that was her loss.

Writing Wednesday - Shotgun

Note... I DID start this yesterday but with work and a toddler dropping a cookie sheet on her toe and needing mommy to sleep next to her ... Yeah... It didn't get posted until today.

Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, typically only a few hundred words or fewer
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: She dropped the shotgun on the bed

*****1*****
Cassie turned, her eyes wide. “What did they do? I can’t be married to him! Not David!”
Her breath caught in her throat as she choked back a sob. Tears trickled down her cheeks. The wooden stock glistened in the flickering firelight. Her hands shook as she took the shotgun from its spot on the mantle.
“I won’t be forced into this. He’s a horrible person.”
The door creaked open bringing with it a cold blast of air. David’s evil sneer turned to shock as the smell of spent gunpowder filled the room. She dropped the shotgun on the bed…


*****2*****
Fire pulsed through her veins. Overwhelming her. Consuming her. Her heart raced, pumping the flames even faster.
“Get a hold of yourself, Ember.” His murmured words were almost muffled by the crackling and popping in her ears.
The wood in her hands almost disintegrated into ash of it’s own accord while the metal became a dripping, molten mass. She scanned the room, her gaze stopping on Trent’s face. All the color had drained. She dropped what remained of the shotgun on the bed. The blankets seemed to pull back from it as if in fear, their edges singed and smoking.

*****3*****
Water dripped from her clothes, puddling on the floor. She glanced at the dog shivering next to her, crouching near the barely warm fireplace.
“Go lay down, Chance. You did real good today.”
The dog’s tail thumped once then was still as his head rested on his paws.
Tracy almost didn’t have the strength to strip out of her wet clothes before she collapsed next to the shotgun she’d dropped on the bed.
She groaned as a knock came at the door. “What?”
“It’s the game warden. Open up.”
She forced her eyes open a crack then rolled over.

Writing Wednesday - Flash Fiction - Kidnapped

Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, typically only a few hundred words or fewer
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: The day my mother was kidnapped

Warmth seeped through me as the amber liquid slid down my throat. I sighed and closed my eyes, thankful to be someplace warm. I lifted the glass to my lips and almost snarled when a rowdy bunch crowded me at the bar, jostling my elbow.
“Another round!” Someone slurred their words as spittle rained onto the counter. “Conrad here is telling us a tale.”
My Conrad? I shifted beneath my cowl to peer at the man.
The grizzled old man spoke, his voice as gravelly as he looked. “Aye, ‘twas a horrible thing. ‘twas the day my mother was kidnapped…”

Writing Wednesday - Classroom Boredom

Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, typically only a few hundred words or fewer
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: She was tired of him regaling her with his tales

Kiara’s head lolled back as she stared at the flickering fluorescent lights. One hundred thirty-seven. There are One hundred thirty-seven ceiling tiles in this room. She rocked forward and blew out a breath. Her fingers traced the carvings on the smooth wood in front of her.
The seconds ticked by, each moment echoing in her mind. She tried to focus on the repeating sound, wishing it would drown out his words.
She was tired of him regaling her with his tales. They weren’t all that spectacular anyway. Stupid English teacher. No one wants to hear about double negatives.

Writing Wednesday - Flash Fiction

Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, typically only a few hundred words or fewer
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: He was impervious to her abuse

“What did you do?” He looked at the destruction throughout the room. Debris littered every horizontal surface. Some unidentified substance dripped from the curtains and lampshade. His boots stuck to the floor as he stepped deeper into the chaos. “What were you thinking?” He shook his head. “I’m going to have to shovel the entire mess into the trash.” He grabbed the snow shovel and started scooping.
“NO!” her tiny wail echoed through the stillness. Her tiny fists beat against his legs. He was impervious to her abuse as he cleaned up the mess of toys, peanut butter and chocolate.

***** OR THIS ONE *****

Daesha glanced behind her, hoping she wasn’t being followed. Da and Cordyn would be there soon. She squared her shoulders and ducked into the cave. Darkness enveloped her like a warm blanket. She widened her eyes, hoping to see something, anything. A rock tumbled, skittering across the cave floor - or was that the rasp of claws? Her fingers brushed the smooth walls as she crept deeper into the cave.
A hot blast knocked her to the ground. A huge weight pinned her down. She pounded her fists against the scaly leg. He was impervious to her abuse.
“Who goes there?”

Writing Wednesday - A day late

Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, typically only a few hundred words or fewer
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: She’d made a poor job of hiding the damage.

Cordyn shook his head as he surveyed the clearing. Branches littered the ground having been sheared from the trees. “What was she thinking?”
Trevor shrugged. “Does she ever?”
Cordyn smothered a snort. “Dinna let her father hear ye speak such.”
Trevor grinned. “Aye, but tis true.”
“Aye.” He moved past the cluttered timber to the blackened earth. He cocked his head to the side. “What happened here?” His fingers caressed the dark patch, wishing it could speak to him. Footprints scuffed the ground, leading into the forest. She’d made a poor job of hiding the damage.
He rose. “Let’s go.”

Writing Wednesday - Flash Fiction

Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, typically only a few hundred words or fewer
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: I’m really not surprised that you murdered him.

The bacon and lettuce crunched between my teeth. I glanced up, expecting her to continue.
“It’s not like I meant to do it…”
I nodded while I chewed. “Mmm-hmmm.”
“Dad is gonna kill me.”
“Probably.” I looked at my sandwich, intent on licking the mayo that dripped onto my hand.
“You’re no help!”
I cleared my throat. “I’m really not surprised that you murdered him. After the hours we’ve had to slave away in that dreadful place. I mean… It was Dad’s prize begonia after all. Who names a stupid plant?”
“Right? Give me a bite. That looks delicious.”

Writing Wednesday - Flash Fiction

Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, typically only a few hundred words or fewer
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: I was sad to see that he still existed.

He sat in the clearing - old, wizened, decrepit even. His once majestic aura merely a ghost of what had been. Thinking of the past filled me with longing, yearning for what would never be again. His now frail body sickened by the darkness that spread across the land, killing us all slowly. I was sad to see that he still existed. Taking a deep breath, I nodded to the men. “Do it.”

“Lass?”

I closed my eyes and swallowed the lump in my throat. “Take him out of his misery.” I turned away, unable to watch anymore. “Cut the tree down.”

Writing Wednesday - Flash Fiction

Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, typically only a few hundred words or fewer
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt…
The Prompt: They've done frightful things.

“They’ve done frightful things, them that came before.”
The rattly cadence kept time with the wheezy music. Fire crackled in the background.
“Frightful things. Unspeakable things. Things better left in the darkness.”
Chills crept down my spine as the music hit a dissonant chord.
“Darkness like what be settlin’ over the land. ‘twill happen again, it will.”
A gnarled finger swept across the crowd before stopping, pointing directly at me. My breath caught in my throat, an unfathomable boulder, choking off the life giving air in exchange for a shiver of fear.
“Ye be the one that can stop it.”

Medical Moments

Once again, we went to the doctor’s office. This appointment was originally scheduled in June, but with Scout Camp, I decided to reschedule.

We arrived several hours early because our previous engagement at the DMV went extraordinarily well and someone left with a newly minted driver’s permit.

At the lab, the tech asked if the labs were for the upcoming surgery.
“What surgery?”
“The one on Monday…”
I must have shot daggers from my eyes and had venom dripping from my teeth because he backed up several inches and tapped wildly on his keyboard.
“I’m sorry, I have the wrong chart pulled up.”

Ya think? And then, when he was called back for the blood draw, the phlebotomist had me come back too. I haven’t gone back with him for several years because he does so much better without me there.
“I need you to verify the labels.” I may or may not have rolled my eyes at this point.

And finally, the appointment, after a 2 1/2 hour layover.
Height and weight are continually gaining. He cheered when they took his blood pressure. “YES! I got a big cuff! He finally outgrew the child’s cuff. He’s in the 3rd percentile for height. We’re really excited about the continued growth. We’re very hopeful that the Nutropin will continue to do it’s job.

Now for the not so good news… He’s a little dehydrated. His glucose level is a little elevated. His kidney function has dropped to 18-19%. It’s still okay, but we’d like it to be better.

We’re going to be hydrating a lot, trying to flush the kidney out. The growth hormone dose was raised because of the weight gain. And, we’ll be doing labs again in about 2 weeks. We’re continuing to hope and pray that things work out while continuing to do what is recommended.

We’re hopeful that things will continue to get better, but we know everything is in God’s hands. Huge thanks to all our Prayer Warriors! You are a brilliant support group! I love and appreciate each one of you.

Medical Monday - Pathology

The pathology reports came back. Results are: The moles are CLEAN!!! We’re so excited about that news. The crevasses they left are healing and don’t seem to keep him from doing anything. We’ve been doing a mixture of essential oils, witch hazel pads, neosporin and bandaids. He’s been a fairly good patient and when we went for his annual “sports physical” today, the doctor said they were healing amazingly well.

Another bonus to report… When we started the growth hormones last fall, Jaydon was just over 4.5 feet tall and pushing 80 pounds. Today, he’s 5 foot 3 inches! He is over the 100 pound mark, weighing in at 105 pounds. He’s overly excited because he’s got a good 3 inches and 20 pounds on his 12 year old brother. (They were very close to the same in November)

We aren’t sure how long we’ll be on the growth hormones. That will be determined by his labs, continuing good health, and eventually his bone scans.

Keep up your the good work, Prayer Warriors! We appreciate each and every one of them!

Won Hundred Word Wednesday - Flash Fiction

Flash Fiction: A piece of fiction that is extremely brief, typically only a few hundred words or fewer
The Challenge: Write a piece in 100 words or less using the prompt...
The Prompt: the hunter’s car was crawling quietly down the street

*I took the liberty of taking out the word 'was' because it made more sense with my piece...

Her heart fought with her breath for room in her throat. Darkness surrounded her as she hunched next to a gnarled tree on the neglected yard. Is he gone? She leaned forward and dared to peek out onto the street. She lunged back into the shadows as a stake whistled past her ear. I’ve been found!
She bolted into a thicket, hoping to lose him in the bramble, branches clawed at her clothes. She glanced over her shoulder, the ancient blood thickening in her veins. Lights pierced the darkness as she saw the hunter’s car crawling quietly down the street…

You can read the other entries here...

Medical Monday - Moles

Jaydon has had several moles growing to bothersome proportions. The ones that have been bugging him are right at his waist line. Every time he’d pull his jeans up, they’d get irritated. There’s also one on his neck that will be bothersome when he starts shaving regularly.

I toyed with the idea of getting them removed during school, but in the end, I decided to wait until summer. What’s a couple of weeks, right?

So, here we sit. Him in his orange fleece shorts, worn for comfort following the procedure and me in my jeans & baggy t-shirt. I’m almost wishing I was wearing my knee brace but the embellishments on my jeans make wearing it uncomfortable. Fashion before sense, right? ;)

Anyway. The nurse and I looked over his back and noticed 4 moles there in addition to the one on his neck. We’ll let the doctor decide which ones to tackle and which ones will be spared. I figure, if we’re doing this, do it good! Poor kid will have even more scars to show off. It’ll be excellent!

He’s having a few nerves. I won’t say what I’m having but it’s probably nerves too. My stomach is jittery and I haven’t been able to eat yet today. It’s already past lunch time and the doctor is running late - the drive between facilities is fun sometimes.

We’re doing 3 moles on his back it looks like. The shots were the worst part. He screamed and begged them to stop. And they did, when they were done. It wasn’t soon enough for him and my phone went flying into the corner. I’m not sure at this point if he threw it or if he dropped it.

There was blood and slicing and dicing. The moles were dropped into a vial of preserving solution so they could be sent to the lab for evaluation. Dr. Joe said they looked great and were just growing because of the daily irritation his jeans caused. I almost wished I’d stood up to watch the whole thing, but I didn’t.

Jaydon has a nice collection of bandaids on his back and has been instructed not to shower for two days. The mole on his neck will be kept on the radar. Since it’s not on his face and is not in the way, they’re leaving it for now. Dr Joe did say that the neck mole is one he’d feel comfortable doing. Normally, if they’re on the face, he’ll refer us to a dermatologist or a plastic surgeon.

We’re crossing our fingers for good news from the lab - hopefully some time this week. :)

Writing Wednesday (On a Thursday)

I just finished reading The Captain and the Healer’s Heart (StarBride Chronicles Book 1) by Betsy Love.


With an impending murder charge, Giada must escape Earth before the Amahrian enforcers find her. Desperate, she accepts an offer to be a StarBride to a wealthy governor on another planet. What she didn’t account for was the handsome and irksome pilot whose only thoughts are about profits.

Captain Skyler Rohn can’t go back to Earth; he’s a wanted man, and he needs money to prove his innocence. When a job offer comes in that pays handsomely to transport a StarBride, Skyler can’t resist. His ship damaged, Skyler’s only choice is to land on a habitable moon before their oxygen runs out. If only Giada and Skyler had met before she had agreed to be another man’s wife.

“A sweet romantic tale with adorable characters for people who enjoy reading light space opera.” – Katie Hamstead, author of the Amazon best-selling Kiya Trilogy



Betsy lovingly crafts such a heartwarming tale. I enjoyed watching this tale take shape. She does an excellent job of explaining the foreign space words. The world she creates is beautiful; I could see it in my mind’s eye. Thanks for a great read, Ms. Love!

Medical Monday - The Tests

Thursday was the last day of school. It was also my birthday. It was also the day I both dreaded and looked forward to. Thursday was the day we went to do labs. Thursday is the day we’d finally find out how much damage the medicine debacle caused Jaydon’s kidney. Thursday was the day we’d find out if we were shopping for a new kidney, starting dialysis, stopping the growth hormone, or remaining status quo.

So many things went wrong that morning. So many hurdles… Many of his teachers wouldn’t sign him out early. I can only assume they didn’t want the kids roaming the streets like wild Indians. I get it. I do. Once the delaying issue was identified, I escorted him to each of his classrooms and waited at the door for the teacher to sign him out. I don’t think the one teacher expected me to bite back when I was told I interrupted an important meeting. “Tell me how your important meeting is more important than me trying to get my child to his appointments in Salt Lake. Ones we should have left 45 minutes ago to get to.”

I really should thank this teacher because this incident gave me something to think about besides the impending tests. It gave me something to dwell on while I drove. Something besides worrying about the unknown. Something to do besides what I should have been doing - praying.

We arrived at PCMC and Jaydon was almost immediately escorted back for labs. It took somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 minutes. The doctor told us, “We’ll call you with the results this afternoon.”

I celebrated the completion of the tests with Flan and Tres Leches Cake from Cafe Rio while the kids had their choice of meals from McDonalds. I also had tamales and enchiladas, but the cakes were the best!

By Friday morning, all I knew was that the test was complete but the nurses couldn’t/wouldn’t release the results without the doctor reviewing them first. I played with their online system for a while until I finally figured out what my password was. I was reviewing the results - many of them marked with red - when I got the call. The creatnine levels had once again stabilized. The other labs “weren’t clinically significant” enough to do any meddling. So, we are Status Quo. Nothing is changing yet. Our summer is still intact.

Fear and dread have been banished. I am constantly in awe of God’s goodness. His grace. His love. I’ve felt the prayers envelope me as I’ve driven, waited, stewed, and cried. We are all in his arms and He is in our lives. He knows each and every one of us and loves us through our faults and trials.

Writing Wednesday - StoryMakers Conference

My amazing sister helped me get to Storymakers this year. It was a wonderful experience - like always.

Thursday started with Plot Chat. Annette Lyon gave me some great pointers and insight. I can’t wait to start revising! Next up came the First Pages Clinic. I was a little bummed because it seemed like I had been put in the wrong group. There were some really off-the-wall comments, BUT I did receive some feedback I can implement and use to make my work better. I guess I should put on my alligator skin jacket for these because this isn’t the first time I’ve come away feeling like the proverbial whipping boy. Ironically, I took the same book to these… Go figure!

Friday was nothing less than amazing! I met with Sara Crowe for a manuscript consult. She made very few changes to the 10 pages she read from Wish Upon A Warrior. I was so excited! She suggested I flesh it out a bit to add about 15k words, making it a full-length novel instead of a novella. My favorite classes were by Marc Cameron and Mike Perry. And then the keynote speaker! Oh the keynote!

Ally Condie knocked it out of the ballpark! It was such a good speech.

My most awesome roomies took me out for desserts at a French bakery. Oh, such wonderful goodness! Wowie!

Saturday came early, much too early. It took quite a bit to pull myself out of bed & to get dressed. I braided my hair and went to classes. My all time favorite class was Ally Condie’s intensive. She got us writing - actually writing in class. It was wonderful. I wished I’d have brought my laptop. It was so fun!

Then Jennifer Nielsen’s keynote address during lunch was spectacular! Oh. My. Gosh! WOWIE!!! It was hard to top.

Eschler Editing managed to squeeze me in for an editing spot. They were so sweet! I got so much good feedback! I have so much to fix. Again… Sara Crowe and Eschler Editing looked at the same piece.

And then… the Whitney Awards! My good friend, Jenni James, and her daughters came to help me get ready. They did my hair and makeup.

It was magical - such a transformation! I literally felt like a princess once I stepped into my dress. I got so many compliments. It was great!

I have so many things rushing through my head as I returned to my normal life. I have so many new story ideas, so many thoughts on how to improve my writing, so many THINGS!

It’s been said the main reason we go to conference isn’t the classes (although they help), it’s the PEOPLE! The networking! The feeling of family! The wonderfulness of it all! It’s like entering a magical universe that not everyone “gets.” This writer family that I’ve chosen is so much fun. We’re all living this solitary lifestyle and then, once a year, we’re thrown together in this big building to learn, laugh, chat, and hone our craft. I’m so glad I have these writer friends of mine. They are so supportive, so wonderful, so unique. I’m honored that I can mingle with them, if only for brief snippets of time. These fellow Storymakers, they are my friends!

Medical Monday - A couple days early...

We’ve been going to the doctor every 2-3 months because Jaydon is finally on a growth hormone that’s working! He’s responding beautifully! He’s over 5 feet tall and has crossed the 100 pound threshold! He’s so proud of himself.

A wonderful moment happened today when I pulled out a pair of pants that have been kicking around for quite some time. “Hey, these were Chazz’s pants but they’re 4 inches too short for him. Try them on. If they don’t fit, I’ll send them to the DI.”

He and Dakota tried them on. And, with a belt, they fit! Good grief! We’ve gone from the size 10s to the 12s to the 14s to men’s sizes in pants in ONE year with these two!

At the last appointment, we changed up Jaydon’s blood pressure medication. If we can keep his blood pressure lower, we can keep the kidney functioning longer. “Here’s the RX and the lab order. Get the labs done in 7-10 days.”

It was closer to 10 days when we got it done. Still within the timeframe we had been given. I didn’t give it another thought.

UNTIL, I was at the Storymakers Conference. I was riding the escalator. My phone was on silent so I wouldn’t disturb the wonderful presenters. I felt the vibration of a new message and listened in shock.

“Stephanie, you need to stop that new med immediately! I don’t know what happened and why there was a delay. But the results from TWO WEEKS AGO indicate that his kidney is failing! I don’t know why there was a delay, but we need immediate action. I’ll call again on Monday.”

I made a frantic phone call to my sister who had my kids. “Take that little green pill out of the baggie RIGHT NOW! It’s literally killing him!”

Heads turned in the lobby. I’m sure they thought I was crazy or part of a plot or part of some class.

It’s crazy to know that you’re 100+ miles away from your kid and there’s nothing you could do even if you were there. Combine that with the flooding that was happening and the cow insanely close to her due date and it’s a recipe for stress.

Luckily, I had the best roomies who took me to a French Bakery for desserts - yes, plural. I’m not sure they knew what was going on… but I’m so thankful!

Monday, I had a great discussion with our doctor. We’ll go back to the previous BP med with labs in 7-10 days. If this fails, we’ll need to stop/delay the growth hormones. We may even need to look at dialysis.”

My heart is lurching in my chest. But, already I can see a bit of improvement. His coloring is better, he’s more active, he’s not sleeping as much. He still sleeps a lot. BUT! Things are looking better.

The flooding has receded a bit. The cow still hasn’t calved. We still don’t have the answers we want or need. BUT, it will all work out. We are praying and everything is in God’s hands.