Where Have I Been?

Hello, all! It's been awhile. I haven't been doing much of any of my usual postings lately, not here, not on Stellar Four, not anywhere (except for bits on Goodreads, which are barely a scattering of notes). So what's up?

Short version: family health issues, family member with cancer, loads of routine tests for FC, IEP meetings and evaluations for FC, death of loved one (fuck cancer forever), and my brain needed a freaking holiday.

Yeah.

Let's break things down a bit.

Family health issues: aside from the illnesses that tend to strike a household filled with school-age kids, there were a few other issues. I got through my routine dermatologist screening with no new problems (yay!), but then had a painful cyst that took me out of action for awhile. The hubs was hit on the freeway (he's OK, but the car was not). And we got news that my father in law had liver cancer. For while it looked like things were going OK, then suddenly, he was gone.

On a much more positive note, FC began to walk unaided - no walker, no braces, just her own strength and volition and feisty 'tude. I'd always hoped that she would be able to, but seeing her walk, play with other kids, and now attend preschool, it's one of the best things that's ever happened. She also had several tests that went pretty much OK. We're looking at surgery in a year or two, but that wasn't unexpected.

FC: I felt like a hamster in a wheel for much of the late spring/summer when it came to FC. Everything was hurry up and wait. She turned 3 and had to transfer into the school district for services. This meant lots of meetings and evaluations, culminating in an IEP* where I did get what I thought was best for her. Then came a few months of quiet followed by "OH MY GOD YOU NEED TO FILL OUT ALL THESE FORMS RIGHT NOW!!!!" followed by more quiet, then "Hey, you start tomorrow."

The thing is, I've talked to lots of folks who have been through the process. Before it all started, I generously gave myself a year to work through everything. That said, when I was in the middle of it, it didn't take long to get to "I need to have this sorted now!"

She's now in a great program with fantastic teachers, but it's taken awhile to calm myself down, to stop feeling like another shoe's about to drop.

That might be what takes a year, or twenty.

Brain vacation: I gotta be honest, at the end of the day, I was lucky to do a little tweeting. My reading was off, my interest in writing anything more than 140 characters was down to almost nothing.

I just needed a break.

When FC went to preschool, and the other kids were already in school, I DID NOTHING. No extra things off the to-do list, no special projects, NOTHING.

I sat on my ass, ate what I wanted and it was glorious.

I just needed some time with no deadlines to regroup.

I started doing some more things on THE LIST, started exercising more, starting doing archery more (it's calming, I like it, and it brings out my inner Merida), started volunteering (mostly book related), and now I'm easing back into posting again.

I'm sorry if you e-mailed me and got no response. It might very well have been during a time when my life turned to crap and I couldn't deal with anything new.

I'd like to get back into what made me happy for so long - talking about and recommending good reads.

Have anything new I should be reading?


*IEP = Individualized Education Program. Basically a contract between us and the school about accommodations and services for FC.