Open Mics, Football, and a Cold Sore, Oh My

Is it okay if I curl up in bed with latest issue of Oprah until I have to leave for writing workshops in Larchmont in a few hours? I am supposed to be writing - my agent has glamored me into thinking I should try my hand at middle grade fantasy and I told him that I would roll up my sleeves (after sending him two synopses on Friday) but my brain is in a fog.

I LOVE the fall, but with the changes in temperatures and schedules-run-amok my body starts to shut down. Does anybody else experience this intensity? Every fall I am guaranteed to get a big ugly cold sore that blows up my lower lip. FUN.

I woke up with one on Saturday morning, but I had to take my girl to soccer, run a workshop, and then later host a fabulous Writopia Open Mic event at the Mt. Kisco Library. We had five kids read, and then inaugurate our Writopia wall of fame. The husband made a wall that we can move around, with photoshopped wallpaper on it of empty books that need titles. Our Writopians then get to choose a book spine to write the titles of their stories with their names as the author. (At Writopia Lab in NYC, all walls are covered in this fabulous wallpaper.) A favorite part of these events for me is to have all of the young writers come up and be part of a Q & A panel. This is where you get to see how esteemable their creativity is for them, how identifying themselves as writers boosts their confidence and gives them a voice.

Sunday morning we all had to get up early to the football field in Leonard Park to watch Cooper's very first football game - the Mt. Kisco Maroons vs. the Putnam Valley Tigers. By this point my lip had really blown up and I was starting to feel sick, so as surreal as football is for me anyway, it started to take on a science-fiction-y feel. It was amazing to watch him, even though I don't understand the game, and funny to have him quiz me afterwards. We had to race home to get our Larchmont Writopia wall in order to make The Open Mic event at The Voracious Reader!

Don't worry - afterward I drove straight to the walk-in clinic, was able to see an RN and get some meds so I am on the mend. (And the husband made chicken soup from scratch!)

And by the way - if you have managed to get through reading this post, and you haven't read Edges yet, or you have but would love to give to a friend, I have three copies to give away and am hosting a contest. Go ahead and enter!


Now is it okay to turn off my computer for a while? xoxox