Rita Arens's Blog, page 17
November 5, 2014
It's Worth It to Care
I spent last night at the Lawrence watch event for Paul Davis/Jill Docking's Kansas governor's run. I've known Paul since he married my best friend, and their daughter is my girl's unofficial little sister. So of course I wanted him to win. Beyond that, Paul's politics mirror my own almost exactly, only he is calm under pressure and I am not. He would've been a great governor. Kansas, I'm sorry. You're missing out.
I probably offended a room full of people when I said after the call had been...
October 28, 2014
The Next Story
I'm in the writing valley right now, shopping some projects to agents, wondering what will happen next. I've been in this place of a different sort of work for about a month now, grinding along, sending out queries, sticking my nose weekly into my color-coded Google doc of victory and rejection. I haven't been writing at all except very sporadically here and of course for my day job. I've been reading and training for a half-marathon and watching the World Series and lying in my hammock soaki...
October 21, 2014
What It Takes to Reclaim Wood
When I was younger, there were several outbuildings alongside my parents' driveway. One of them was a corn crib for hogs that became where we stored my horse Cutter's hay and grain. One of them was a hog shed that became Cutter's barn and my tack room. If I close my eyes and concentrate, I can still smell the inside of those buildings. They've since been torn down as they outlived their useful lives, but my father kept the wood.
I don't remember how it came up, but Pa offered to let Beloved a...
October 16, 2014
President Lincoln Is Not Dead
"He's in the forest. Behind my house."
October 13, 2014
The Agony of Blown Expectations
The text came at 7 am, but I didn't see it until right before my girl and my husband were about to leave.
"Dear parents," it began, and I knew what it was going to say. The rain outside poured down so hard it sounded angry: field trip cancelled.
Just a normal Monday. Nothing to look forward to. I met her eyes. She crumpled before me.
As I listened to the frustration, disappointment and rage pour out of her, I thought how much I've wanted to do that in the past few weeks. Nothing in particular...
October 10, 2014
Remove the Chatter
October 9, 2014
Charlie Cries for Help
We have had the hermit crab twins, Charlie and Sebastian, since the little angel turned two. Never in a million years did I think they would live so long. Guess what? If you take care of your hermit crabs properly, they can live up to 40 years in captivity, with an average lifespan of 15 years. Charlie and Sebastian are at least eight and a half. Lord help me, these crabs may live to see the little angel graduate from high school.
Unless the mites get them first.
I have noticed the mites befo...
October 7, 2014
The End of The World As It Knows It
After I get above eight miles, my mind starts to wander.
I've discovered while training for half marathons how much your mind can disconnect from what your body is doing. There are times when it's too hot and my legs are too heavy and my lungs are bursting and I feel my mind slamming on the brakes, ready to override my desires with heat exhaustion, if necessary, to make this crazy 40-year-old woman stop running in the heat.
There are times when my legs are fine and the euphoria sets in and th...
October 2, 2014
YA Scavenger Hunt RED Team: THE OBVIOUS GAME
Are you here for the Young Adult Scavenger Hunt? If so, welcome!
This tri-annual event was first organized by author Colleen Houck as a way to give readers a chance to gain access to exclusive bonus material from their favorite authors ... and a chance to win some awesome prizes! At this hunt, you not only get access to exclusive content from each author, you also get a clue for the hunt. Add up the clues, and you can enter for our prize -- one lucky winner will receive o...
September 25, 2014
A Mother Had a Daughter Who Had an Eating Disorder
Yesterday on Twitter, a blogger who had read my Dr. Phil anorexia post tweeted to me. I went over to look at her blog and felt the familiar stomach drop when I read this:
A month ago,in Flagstaff, SB had a Subway sandwich for dinner Friday night and at lunch on Saturday she had a few of the sweet potato fries I'd ordered for the table. Yesterday, when it was suggested she needed to drink Gatorade to combat the recent dehydration that led to her fainting twice and being rehydrated in the E.R....
