Milestones

Last week my sixteen-year-old daughter got her driver’s license. She immediately went out that night to visit friends. I’m fairly certain I had a few more gray hairs by the time she arrived home. It’s such a rite of passage for a young person. I remember being so excited the day I passed my test – a million years ago now. My dad told me driving was the ‘great freedom machine’. That stuck with me all these years, especially considering his mother never learned how to drive. She was always reliant upon others to take her places or do errands.

Having access to a car widens the possibilities for a young person. Which, as a mother, is terrifying. But as I’ve said before, parenting is just a continuous cycle of letting go. From the moment that precious baby is placed in your arms and the great love of your life takes hold of your heart is the moment you’re forced to begin the process of letting go. We must let them become a person, separate from us. We know this. Yet, it’s hard. And scary. Life moves forward, always. So, we adjust to a new normal and pray for our children to be safe.

Speaking of milestones, last week was the eighth anniversary of the publication of my first novel, Riversong. The last eight years have been a wild ride of ups and downs. My initial publisher closed their doors after publishing eight of my books. (Weird about the number 8 so often showing up!) After getting my rights back to those first eight books, I decided to self-publish and haven’t looked back since. Now, at 20 novels and 3 novellas, it feels like I sort of know what I’m doing. Still, I’m nervous for every release, always striving to be a little better with each project.

My latest release is Cliffside Bay Christmas. It’s a novella that’s meant to be read between Tainted: Lance and Mary and Missed: Rafael and Lisa. I just had to tell the stories of the two Christmas babies born to Honor and Zane and Kara and Brody. It was such a joy to write that I’ve decided to write another one to celebrate a wedding. Stay tuned for that…

Anyway, I hope May brings sunshine and lots of flowers to your world. I’m wrapping up the final draft of Healed: Stone and Pepper and enjoying the beginning of spring here in Seattle. The yard we tore apart and replanted last year at this time is starting to bud and sprout outside my office window. My cats are basking in the pools of sunshine coming through the windows today. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we’re like moles crawling out of our holes, squinting into the sunlight and wondering what is that strange yellow ball in the sky?

Happy spring and much love. Xo

Tess

Photo by Logan Fisher on Unsplash