Kelly McClymer's Blog, page 23

For a very long time, I was an unpublished writer. Daughter saw me scribbling ideas on notepads, heard me talking about characters or writing at the dinner table and in the car, knew I went away to writing conferences and workshops and critique groups, but nothing was out there in the bookstore with my (and, worse, her) name on it.

With little physical evidence of my career (three published short stories in very small markets, a graduate school prize) she could roll her eyes or shrug if...

Writers are dangerous people to cross, as many have found when they discover them have become the murderer…or the murdered…in a novelist's mystery.

What many don't realize is that it is even more dangerous to be in a writer's family. The day to day experiences are ripe for the plucking. Little snippets of things said, odd habits, etc. Writers store these up like squirrels store nuts. And then we use them for maximum effect in our work.

For example, I have a series of books about a teen witch...

One thing this Turtle Mom learned after having a child with autism is that there is a reason that Turtle Moms like a lot of shell time, and for this Turtle Mom, at least, that reason begins with aut and ends with ism.

Daughter, fortunately, is not so plagued with such tendencies. This is both a boon and curse — she truly does not understand how or why her Turtle Mom can forget to say hello, needs a cue card to look people in the eye, and considers small talk a form of torture.

She reads social ...

It is Father's Day in the U.S. today. Daughter is taking her dad out for brunch with fiancee.

We will discuss wedding, no doubt.

But also PopPop, who is not here to celebrate the day with us.

He was a steady influence in Daughter's life (he was the original Turtle Dad, and passed down to this Turtle Mom the love of shell time, but he always came out of his shell for family, especially for his first grandchild).

I don't have access to my picture archive to put pictures of her grandfather and...

We all know those mothers who can take a papercilip and two pieces of tissue paper and turn it into a fabulous costume.

I am not that mother. However, I periodically forget that fact.

When I forgot, I try to do things like turn a pink pair of footie pajamas into a bunny suit by sewing on a "tail."

And then I look at the results, and remember that I am not an arts and crafty mom and I go back to the supermarket birthday cakes.

And then I forget, and try again.

And, maybe once every 15 years, I...

Today ONLY, I am breaking my blast from the past rule of posts. Today I'm going with Daughter to try on wedding gowns (she's trying them on, not me.

Sometime later tonight…or maybe tomorrow if things get crazy…I will share a few pictures.

Please note: I do not expect her to CHOOSE a dress yet, unless she finds the absolute perfect one, for the absolute bargain price that she can't resist.

Also keep in mind that I am not a good shopping wing-mom. I would let her buy at least 50% of the dresses...

There are many genetic legacies that parents pass down. Some are appreciated (beauty, intelligence, a propensity to leanness), some are not. My dad was 5'7″. My mom was 5'5″. I'm 5'2″…and a half. Height was really not in my direct gene pool.

Listening to wedding dress salespeople talking about the work involved in hemming a voluminous wedding gown makes me wonder what vertically challenged Victorians did when they got hand-me-down gowns that needed taking up four or five inches at the...

As a Turtle Mom, I was slow to react to most childhood transgressions. I wanted the punishment to fit the crime, and that required thought. A spill is easy — just clean it up. I didn't really consider that a crime, just something that happens and you deal with it. Daughter was good with that philosophy, too.

But there are childish "crimes" that require more drastic consequences. Lying. Stealing. Not sharing. A Tiger Mom may insist on perfect adherence to rules, with severe and instant...

One of many occasions where she indulged her love of dressing up with others who understood!

Daughter loved to dress up. Her grandmothers indulged her with pretty dresses. Her Turtle Mom, however, didn't get with the program. Jeans, t-shirts, and sweats were my normal attire.

She did not let my lack of an elegance jean deter her, though. She found like-minded folks wherever she could.

Luckily, both her grandmothers have the tastefully elegant gene that skipped me.

Sometimes I wonder how she...

One of the rare times we weren't clustered around a map, each pointing in a different direction.

Need to catch up? Read Turtle Mom's Epic Plan to Restore Mommy Karma.

When a Turtle Mom travels, she takes her shell with her. Very convenient…for her.

I don't know about real turtles, or other Turtle Moms, but this Turtle Mom does not have a great sense of direction. I can get lost in NYC (with numbered streets). I don't worry too much when I'm alone, because I can use the exercise of heading the...