Where Am I This Time?

Geri — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 07:09:43 +0000

Thank God for our pets. They express what we often don’t–or won’t. While I was trying to stay positive and upbeat during our recent unpacking in our new home in Moscow, one of the kids snapped this photo our dog, Shadow. Shadow is a 10-yr-old black lab mix that we rescued in Memphis, TN when she was 7 weeks old. She’s lived in TN, Whidbey Island, WA, Italy, Belgium, Annapolis, MD and now Moscow!

Where's My Bed?

Shadow has had a longer adjustment this move. She rings a sleigh bell to go outside, and this usually takes just a few days to establish in the new home. This time it took her a month. Most likely it took this long because this is the first time we’ve lived in an apartment setting and can’t just open the back door to let her go in the yard. Or maybe she was p.o.’d at us for the 10 hour flight over–not as easy as the trip over the pond to Italy when she was only 4 yrs old.

I love this photo as it captures my sentiments on many writing days. While I usually know my characters, I don’t always know exactly where they’re going or what they’re up to in the current scene. I have to dig deep through the piles of emotions and back story and come up with what the heck they’re doing.

Not unlike unpacking–unwrapping sheet after sheet of finger-drying and -numbing paper, only to discover it contains the top of a sugar bowl I no longer have. It shattered in the last move.

But then I unpack a box and find the most beautiful skein of yarn that I forgot about after I bought it three years ago–a treasure.

I hope you find your treasure today.

Geri's Take on... » Pets

Where Am I This Time?