Childhood Traditions

Tonight we’re keeping our son up past his bedtime for something special. We’re going to go out into the backyard and collect fireflies. I even have a Mason jar to collect them. (Yes, we do release them later.)

He’s three years old, and as far as I know, he’s never seen a firefly. I wonder what his reaction will be? That’s one of the best aspects of being a parent–seeing old traditions for the first time through the eyes of a child. This year was the first year he really understood about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. We would tease him if a rabbit hopped into our yard and say, “Look! It’s the Easter Bunny!” Our son would squeal, “Oh, yes! You’re right! There he goes!”, his face lighting up with excitement. He’s convinced that Bambi comes out of the woods at twilight to feast upon the grass right outside the military base.

Each day is new for him. It’s always fun to hear him pick up conversational bits from my husband or myself like, “He’s a bad driver. He needs to pay more attention to the road.”

My favorite one, by far, was today’s quote. He trotted over to my husband, looked him in the eye and said, “I need a book contract.”

That’s my boy.

Blog Party!

The RWA National Conference is coming closer! I know many of my blog friends are planning to attend. I would love to meet those of you attending in person! (There was a sale on exclamation points!) If you are going, what if we try to get together during the Welcome reception on Thursday night? Perhaps we could all meet at a certain corner of the room and then we could mingle and chat? How about this–As you enter the room, go to the left corner in the back. Sound like a plan? Who’s going?

In other news, I’m reaching the three-quarter mark on my Victorian book. I know I should probably be finishing an Irish medieval, but that will be next on my list. I already have the proposal ready to go. But this Victorian book needs to be written. Ever have one of those? It just grabs you by the throat and won’t let go. Some people call it the book of your heart. I consider it more like exorcism. I have to let the story out or I’ll go crazy. So, I’ll finish it and see where the chips fly.