So where did I go?
September 22, 2010
Filed under Random, Uncategorized
Tags: earthy, fall, humidity, mississippi, move, reflection, salem, snow, spring, summer, winston, winter, year
I went to Winston-Salem.
By no means was this my first move, not even my first big move. I lived in the Kansas City metro for the first 24 years of my life, moving around, then moved to Mississippi.
Mississippi was hot! Very Hot. Buggy, muggy and sunny. I did so love the beach but I couldn’t swim in that water.
When I got to Winston there was snow on the ground, real white, fluffy kind of stuff that is cold to the touch. I didn’t realize I missed snow. I missed my thick leather coat with the hood and matching boots. Oh yeah, I kept those all that time. My darling son had a snow ball fight with his cousins, until their fingers turned pink.
Then spring fluttered in…when spring is supposed to come, not in February. Slowly trees came to life, flowers stuck their heads out of the frozen ground, and birds began to chirp. Of course, not too happy with the early birds but it was still a long missed moment.
And everyone warned me of the humidity. I laughed. They said it would be coming. I laughed. They started to complain…I laughed. I have yet to walk out and instantly be drenched.
Here comes fall. I knew it was on it’s way. A few weeks ago I stepped out of my townhouse and breathed in. That’s all it took. A quick breath of the earthy smell and crisper air that signal fall. I basked in the moment. I sang on my way to work with that giddy little girl voice I don’t let anyone else listen to. I bounced up and down telling my sister it was coming. For the first time in seven years I could truly enjoy fall.
Today it’s ninety but it’s still out there. That crisper air with a cool breeze. That earthy fragrance that wafts in off the Appellations and out of the ground below those now shrinking blooms. Soon winter will come with a little snow and the circle will complete. Four full seasons is such a miracle to see.
Right as Rain
A few months ago I had the great privilege to speak in front of a group at the Shepherds Center. Alright, I don’t like public speaking and will fully blame my publisher for setting me up months before. I agonized for weeks over what I would talk about. I wondered if I should do it as just Suzette or if I should do it as myself and my writer name…much like my darling sister in the article before this.
Should I talk about the two books I have out, the one that will be coming soon, the one that I finished after, short stories, or all the other concepts I have working around. After a few of the ladies stopped into Barnhill’s Book Store and were looking at the short stories Second Wind has put out, I decided on short stories.
Then my dear mother called me Sunday asking me how to write a short story. She made a promise that she would write one and had no idea how to go about it. So I sent her my notes for my talk the following Tuesday. She was very excited that I’d already had it ready.
The folks at the Shepard’s center were very kind and other than the normal nerves that get to me, I did well, at least in my own mind. Well enough that one of the women said she’d love to know the next time I have an event so she could bring her grand daughter to me for inspiration.
Now if I can turn that faith in me into another finished book I’ll be right as rain.
Suzette Vaughn is the author of, Badeaux Knights, Mortals, Gods, and a Muse, and (Coming Soon) Finding Madelyn
Suzette Vaughn 