Time Flies, or Time to Fly

In less than 20 hours, I'll be with my two sisters—one my sister by blood and the other my sister by choice, but both my best friends in the world. Gwen and Tammy have never met, so I'm way excited for them to get to know each other rather than just know each other through me. This is also Tammy's first time to Chicago, which means I get to play tour guide in one of my favorite cities in the world.

Packing/laundering/cleaning is a pain, and I'm terrified to leave behind the excessive amount of work I have. But even that can't keep me from wanting to jump out of my skin in anticipation. God really knew what he was doing when her created sister—there's nothing better in the world.

Two Different Faces

Only one more day, and then I get to be with my sister Gwen, one of my favorite people in the entire world. We talk on the phone almost every day and keep in touch through blogs and facebook and emails, but there is nothing like being able to having her right there next to me on our adventures. I love talking to her and laughing with her and just hanging out with her.

But things haven't always gone that smoothly between us. We're not even two years apart in age, so we often got thrown together when we were kids. Our parents would make her include me in many of her adolescent activities, and I felt as if I was trying to come out from under her shadow all through high school. We argued about who had more ice cream, stole each others clothes and spent a lot of time trying to outdistance each other. We were your typical sisters.

I'm really not sure when all that began to change, but somehow the unbelievable statement "you don't want to be around each other now, but you'll be best friends when you're older" became a reality. Maybe it was while I was away for a year and a half as a missionary for our church and she was my most faithful correspondent. Or maybe it was when we began talking about books and movies and found out how much we have in common. Or maybe it was in the six months I lived with her after graduating college when we had time to get to know each other, not as little girls, but as the unique adults we had become.

Living so far away from Gwen isn't easy. Although we see each other at least three times a year, it never seems like enough. I can't wait to pick her up at the airport and give her a huge hug. I want to stay up all night and find out about everything she hasn't been able to tell me about over the phone. I want to see her new hair cut. I want to hear her voice in person. I want to look into her eyes to see for myself that she is well and happy and still my big sister.

God really knew what he was doing when he gave me my sister. It might have taken me a few years to figure it out, but I wouldn't trade her for anyone (or anything) else.

Katherine Paterson Have I Loved

I was very excited to find out Katherine Paterson was named the new National Ambassador for Young People's Literature by the Library of Congress. It's been a lot of fun following Jon Scieszka for the past two years, and now I'm excited to see where Paterson's theme "Read for Your Life" will take us in the coming two years.

I remember reading Jacob Have I Loved for the first time when I was in sixth grade. I remember crying and laughing and being able to connect with history in a way I never had before. I saw myself as Sara Louise because I had an older sister whom, like Sara Louise's sister Caroline, I thought was prettier, smarter and had more to offer the world than I ever could. And for the first time, I realized that I didn't have to be defined by my relationship with my sister. I was the one who was forcing myself to live in my sister's shadow. I could be whatever I wanted to be, and the only person who could stop me was me.

Fifteen years later, I have realized that my sister probably felt much the same way about me. Sisterhood is the most delicate of family relationships, especially when you are so close in age. (My sister is only 19 months older than me.) Now I hope our relationship is more about supporting and encouraging each other rather than comparing ones failures to the others successes.

If one book, read so many years ago, could teach me such a great lesson that still affects me today, can you imagine what Paterson will be able to accomplish in her new position?

P.S. The SCBWI WIP Grant process is upon us. If you are a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators or have ever considered becoming a member, now is a great time to get a writing sample together and ready for submission. I'll be applying for the Grant for a Contemporary Novel for Young Readers this year, which is a total departure for me.

Life seems to always get away from me

I was planning on posting about so many fun things that I did and amazing people I spent time with while I was out West, like...

Stopping by the new Wasatch Music Coaching Academy studio to visit an old friend. (Michael Jackson passed away while I was there, which was sad as his music had touched a lot of people involved in the school, myself included.)

Seeing "Hello, Dolly" performed at the Hale Center Theatre. I had never seen a musical performed on a circular stage before, so that was kind of cool. For a relatively small metropolitan area, Salt Lake City is chalked full talent.

Catching up with old friends with growing families. I've seen Angie in so many stages in her life--college student, engaged, newly married, pregnant, first time mom, pregnant again--and it's been kind of hard to be away from her for so long. Emma is growing up so fast, but I was happy to see she has inherited her mommy's passion for reading.

Reuniting the Sisterhood. While I did a lot in my time out West, I had really made the trip to see Sarah get married. It was a small wedding (less than 20 people in attendance), but I wouldn't have missed it for all the world. Sarah was beautiful and her new husband is almost as wonderful as she is, but let's face it, no one is good enough for my Sisters. I don't think I have ever met or will probably ever meet such a fabulous group of women who mean so much to me. Besides my blood-sister and mom, there are no women I love more in all the world.

Making a surprise visit to see Tammy's family. While I was living so far from my own family, Tammy's family became my segregate family. We were lucky enough that all five of her siblings and every single one of her nieces and nephews were in town when we dropped by. I love them like they're my own.

Okay, enough sappiness and pictures for one night. I still want to post about the 4th of July in the Nation's Capitol, including a guest appearance by my very own mom, but that will have to wait until tomorrow or the next day. Plus there are more roommate adventures in DC to share and a real, live writing update. Yes, that's right, I'm actually going to talk about writing on my writing blog. Don't die of a heart attack, y'all.