It's been an emotional week. I had two funerals and my Cub Scouts graduated to Boy Scouts. As crazy as those boys made me and as much of a disaster my house was after a meeting, I'm going to miss the heck out of those days- showing up on the playground in my uniform and having them all cluster around like (spastic, monkey-like) ducklings. At one point during the graduation ceremony at the Blue and Gold dinner, they all had to come up and receive their award. I had this moment... as they saluted me Scout style (my eyes were blurring here) they looked more like young men than they ever had. I was proud.
Also emotional was the shutting down of the LA Times Kids Reading Room. I did the final illustration for it, and it ran last week. I am so sad to see it go; it is hard to keep up with what's happening to print media right now. I wish Jennifer James, the editor, all the best in her new endeavors.
Then there's the state of my manuscript. In an incredible show of Murphy's Law at work in my life, and due to the importance of a certain endangered species in my manuscript, that species actually CAME OFF the endangered species list. YES! I singlehandedly, by relying on said species' endangered status for a most important plot point, saved this species. Not only is it not endangered, it is not even PROTECTED now. So after a goodly meltdown, I figured out that (a) meltdowns are necessary and galvanizing and (b) I am intelligent enough to write myself out of a corner. So I did.
Lastly, my clan ran the Los Alamitos Race on the Base for my dad's 65th birthday. Dad was supposed to join us, but he hurt his back so he was photographer. My son ran it, my mom placed first in her age group, and I took third! To top it all off, Johnny Rebb's catered pulled pork sandwiches after... mmmmm- mmm!
