Heidi McCahan's Blog, page 16

The End of an Era

August 2012: first day of preschool

No celebrity tributes.

No farewell performances from the Goo Goo Dolls. We probably don’t have a trending hashtag, either.

While the western world was hyper-focused on bidding Dave a fond farewell, we celebrated our last child finishing his last day of preschool this morning. It’s a bittersweet parenting milestone. Sure, there’s practical upsides to consider: no more tuition payments, one less destination in the daily carpool routine, all three boys following the exact same school calendar. But the sentimental tug-at-your-heartstrings moments far outweighed the practical.

It’s the end of an era.  A final curtain call on a decade of moving comfortably within this warm and safe demographic known as ‘preschool’. I stayed up late last night reading a book by one of my favorite authors, determined to wring every last second out of yesterday so it would delay the arrival of today. I believe that’s called denial. Silly, right? We can’t stop time.

But I wanted to.

While yesterday was all fun and games, adorable T-shirts and party food, today was marked by wobbly smiles mixed with tears. One minute the kids were singing their hearts out and we couldn’t help but laugh, their joy contagious. Then we cried like crazy when they played a slide show, highlighting the dozens of little moments that comprised their preschool careers.

After a cake and punch reception, we took more pictures while the kids quickly moved outside and chased each other across the grass. Usually we’d scatter on a Thursday afternoon, ushering the kids to the car, on to tackle the next urgent thing on our long to-do lists. But today we lingered, drawn into conversations with parents we hadn’t taken the time to visit with very often, even though we’d passed each other in the hallways hundreds of times in the last three years. Somehow in this moment, life didn’t seem quite so pressing.

There was the usual chatter about kindergarten plans, school assignments and lamenting the passage of time. We eventually circled around to saying the goodbyes we’d tried all morning to avoid. Plans were loosely made to get together at parks and pools in the coming weeks. Finally we filed to our cars and acknowledged that this really was happening.

Perhaps I’m being sappy and over-sensitive. Maybe not a little melodramatic. After all, it’s just preschool. A mere dot on the long timelines of these wild and precious lives. Millions have gone before us and millions more will follow. Still, an undercurrent of sadness cut through the celebration. Red-rimmed eyes peeked out from behind cameras and crumpled tissues accompanied the smartphones. Change may be good and necessary and it’s certainly by God’s design. Yet it’s hard and we’re torn.

The pace and demands are simpler here in preschool land.

We live under the false pretense that we can shield them from so much, exhaling at 12:15 every day when their back under the umbrella of our ever-watchful eyes. Soon half days away from home will transition to full ones. We’ll stretch beyond our comfort zones in the coming months, exploring new territories and releasing our precious charges into the care of others. New experiences, memories and friendships will be forged. Undoubtedly we’ll coach our children through hard times, too.

And my heart will ache just a little when we drive by that big church on the corner where our kiddo laughed and played and learned his way through a sweet, innocent season.

 

Presenting Splash! Nine Refreshing, Faith-Filled Romances for Your Enjoyment

I’m thrilled to announce that my new novella, Love Flies In, will release next month as part of this awesome boxed set collection. If you aren’t familiar with the novella concept, it’s trending now in inspirational romance and the general definition is a complete, satisfying story line ranging between 20,000 and 35,000 words.

Nine beloved authors of contemporary Christian romance have banded together to offer this limited-time collection of all-new romance novellas perfect for your summer vacation reading pleasure. Come visit Scotland, Zambia, Australia, Canada, and several American states, including Alaska, in these inspirational romance novellas. You’ll love each refreshing contemporary romance as the characters enjoy the water on hot summer days, whether it be in a river, lake, ocean… or a swimming pool!

Did you catch that?

9 authors. 9 novellas. 99 cents. 

For real, y’all.

Splash! is available here for pre-order and officially releases 6.23.15.

 

 

 

A Review of Nicole Baart’s New Release The Beautiful Daughters

 

I’m deadline free (for the near future) and back to my irregularly scheduled blogging. One of my favorite authors released another novel last week and I was delighted to be a part of her launch team. If you haven’t read Nicole’s work yet, I highly recommend it.

Blurb:

Adrienne Vogt and Harper Penny were closer than sisters, until the day a tragedy blew their seemingly idyllic world apart. Afraid that they got away with murder and unable to accept who they had lost–and what they had done–Harper and Adri exiled themselves from Blackhawk, Iowa, and from each other. Adri ran thousands of miles away to Africa while Harper ventured down a more destructive path closer to home.

Now five years later, unexpected news forces Adri and Harper together again, and the two cannot avoid facing their memories and guilt head-on. As they are pulled back into the tangle of their fractured relationship and the mystery of Piperhall–the sprawling estate where their lives first began to unravel–secrets and lies are laid bare. The former best friends are forced to come to terms with their shared past and search for the beauty in each other while mending brokenness in themselves.

My review: 

One of my favorite aspects of reading a Nicole Baart novel is the rich, nuanced characters she immerses in a complex plot. The Beautiful Daughters is no exception. From an orphanage in Africa to a small town in the midwestern United States, the reader is drawn into the lives of these two young women, both struggling to make sense of their current circumstances against the backdrop of their broken relationship. This is a powerful story about coming of age, friendship, and the human condition of dealing with our less-than-perfect pasts while trying to move toward a hope-filled future. Well done, Nicole Baart!

There’s a Goodreads giveaway going on now. US residents may enter to win one of ten paperback copies. More details available here. Hurry, contest closes on May 12th.

Thanks to the author and Atria Books for providing a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Next up:

This is the Story of a Happy Marriage  by Ann Patchett: a friend recommended this recently and I’m really enjoying it. It’s a series of essays, blended together to give us a candid look at both her personal and professional experiences. I hope to post a review next week.

Your turn: what are you reading? Leave a comment below. I’m always looking for recommendations.

Fun Writing News Equals Blog Hiatus

I’m thrilled to announce I made it to stage 2 of Harlequin’s Blurb 2 Book contest. Woot! Woot! The next round involves submitting the first three chapters and a synopsis by May 1. This is not the complete list of authors advancing, only a screen shot of my teammates for the Love Inspired category. There are 75 authors advancing to the next round in all three categories: Inspired, Suspense and Historical. If you’d like to follow along, the best way to keep up is #blurb2book on Twitter.

Sadly, this means an abrupt end to my blogging A to Z challenge for this month. Sigh. Maybe next time. But a request for a proposal is a mighty fine reason to go on a blogging hiatus. I’ll see you on the flip side!

I’m Guest Blogging at Mom’s Small Victories. Let’s Talk About Vacations.

I’m a guest over at Mom’s Small Victories today for Be Our Guest Fridays. We’re chatting about planning a vacation that keeps the kids of multiple ages content and doesn’t completely exhaust the parents, either. What’s your go-to destination for family fun? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Click over here and join the conversation.

Blogging A to Z: Skipping to G

I’m skipping over the letter ‘F’. I’ve got nothin’. Well, nothing that starts with the letter F that I want to blog about. I do, however, have two delightful new additions on my screened porch. Happiness is a hanging basket. And ‘G’ is for Gerber daisies, which are my favorite. We’ve tried several different flowers on the porch and these seem to do very well. The pollen has descended, so everything has a yellow coating and we aren’t spending much time out there. But I love seeing vibrant color when I look out the window, especially after a long cold winter and a rainy spring. Once the pollen season is over, we’ll enjoy sitting out there and might even pull off a meal on the porch every now and then.

What’s your favorite annual or perennial flower?

Blogging A to Z: E is for Every…

Photo credit: Sara Hagerty

I’m a visual person. Social media is like one big giant playground to me … sometimes to my detriment. If only the one with the most Pins wins, right? Instagram is probably my favorite platform, because it’s the least overwhelming. There are some incredibly talented people on this planet, wandering around, snapping cool pics and sharing them with the world. I love that.

A few months back, I saw the most amazing book cover.

Impressive, yes?

I downloaded this one immediately. Then I started following the author on Instagram. Whoa. I’m consistently blessed by her posts and the accompanying verses. I’m sharing them today with the hope that Sara’s story and her faith walk will impact your life, as well.

Thanks for stopping by.

Blogging A to Z: D is for Dye

We cut the cord on cable TV several months ago and never looked back. The kids get plenty of screen time playing apps … let’s just confess that right off the top. Any television entertainment comes via Amazon Prime or Netflix, streamed through the Roku. Recently, the youngest started watching an Amazon original called Creative Galaxy. It looked harmless and the tiniest bit educational. Maybe.

Until he came to me with a lengthy list of supplies he needed from the craft store. Normally you don’t have to twist my arm to get me into the craft store. But I’m all shop and no production. Carrying out a craft project with little ones leads to all sorts of meltdowns. The kids behave like adults while mom flips out over too much glitter on the floor and things not turning out like the picture on the box. (Now you know why I appreciate those preschool crafts. Tuition dollars well-spent, I say).

First on his list was make your own bath crayons. Ha! Not a chance. But I waffled when he pulled me over to watch a tie-dye T-shirt episode. She made it look so simple. A little rubber band here, a squirt of dye over there and voila! A fabulous shirt can be yours in minutes. So I caved. We declared Friday to be our tie-dye production day. (I’m sure there’s an Easter parallel in there somewhere).

I was dreading it, but thank goodness for complete tie-dye kits. Gone are the days of boxed Rit dye staining the kitchen sink and walking around with purple fingertips for days on end. It was all pretty easy-peasy.

By this afternoon, the shirts were dry and they mustered some enthusiasm for dyeing some eggs. I guess the T-shirt was the big to-do, though, because by the time we got to the eggs, it was kind of a non-event. Or else they knew their older brother was out of the house, giving them unlimited access to the Xbox. Just a guess.

Please note that one is proudly wearing his new shirt, while the other is ‘saving’ his for school on Monday.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you and yours have a blessed Easter.

Blogging A to Z: C is for Cross

I wandered around Instagram this morning looking for an amazing picture of the cross to compliment today’s post. Then I remembered my goal of documenting ordinary moments and realized the perfect object for a quick photo op sat right next to me on the table. This is Eli’s craft from preschool this week. Once again, I’m touched by their thoughtfulness and creativity in helping the children build meaningful gifts that teach them about our Christian faith.

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

-Isaiah 53:5 (NIV)

Have a blessed Good Friday, everyone.

Blogging A to Z: B is for Birthday

 

 

B is for birthday … this dude is eleven today. Welcome to Tweenerville. Buckle up, right? I hear it’s quite a ride.

So not ready.

It’s exciting to see glimpses of the older boy he’s becoming. I’m sure it’s a perplexing stage of childhood, especially in a world that moves as fast as ours. He likes Dr. Who, Legos, Star Wars, reading dystopian novels, drawing, shooting at inanimate objects, playing video games, laughing at slightly inappropriate jokes, asking tough questions, hiking, eating corn dogs and drinking sweet tea.

Happy birthday, dude. We hope eleven is epic.

Design cred: Rhonna Designs