Well, not really a vacation. I was finishing the novel and the edits and going over final proofs and looking after the boys and all the stuff that goes along with that. Ben, who is almost 18 months old now, is a force to be reckoned with and is the equivalent of three Sams when Sam was his age. All the things that Sam didn’t do–put stuff in his mouth, climb on things, basically put life and limb in danger on a minute-by-minute basis–Ben does as much as possible. I tell myself these are good things, that the exploring and need to find out everything about everything–What does dog food taste like? What will the contents of this box of rice look like on the carpet? What does it feel like to dive from a sofa onto the carpet while landing on my face? Can I flush this thing down the toilet? How does spaghetti sauce look in my hair?–are the very things that may make him come up with a cure for cancer some day. He’s a trying little guy sometimes but he’s also fun and ups the level of everything in our house. He also helps to make it tough to work on things like writing and blogs both by demanding my attention when I try to do it and by making me exhausted by the time he goes to bed and I actually have the time to do it. That’s not an excuse for not blogging much since he’s come in the world, but that and having to finish the new novel, are definitely a couple of good reasons.

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We had a great summer, going around the bay to Aspen Cove and Ladle Cove for a bit, including the wedding of our beautiful niece Christina to her wonderful husband Mark. Lots of swimming and outside fun. A “staycation” as they say. But today Sam started grade one and will be gone all day and I decided I have to buckle down and blog again. I have to do some of that shameless self-promotion I hate so much and tell you about my book and signings and the book launch and readings and stuff. I may very well do it with a small, blond, beautiful child hanging onto my arm, but I’ll do it.