Five things you probably don’t know about me …
1. I lived in 5 states in 9 years. PA, NJ, IL, OH, and AZ. Started over each time, with kids and a dog. Then we went back to IL where we spent 18 years. The crazy thing here isn’t all the moving, as much as I never thought I’d live anywhere but where I grew up. Which brings me to…
2. I moved back to my hometown of Philadelphia at the end of 2016 after 26 years away. After I got used to driving all the hills (IL is flat, folks) it was like I never left, except I was two and a half decades older. Which makes #3 that much more interesting (so I think)…
3. I am living in my first apartment right now. I moved in when I was 52. I went right from living with my parents to being married (I don’t recommend that) and even when I divorced I stayed in that house with my kids. You know where this is going, right to #4…
4. Speaking of kids, I have two, and they are adults, ages 26 and almost 23. From my long-ago mommy-blogging experience, I can tell you that adult kids don’t supply the same online fodder as little kids. This has nothing to do with the last fun fact. Or maybe it does.
5. I think of myself as a non-risk taker. I hate heights. I hold the railing. I drive the speed limit, cross at the cross walk, fill my fridge with superfoods. In fact, my adult life has overflowed with risk. In the past 30 years I lived all the over the country, divorced and raised two kids on my own, spent years writing a novel not knowing if it would get published, started a freelance career, and rebooted my life away from my kids and community. I think the real risk is not taking risk. How boring would that be?
Speaking as a reader, I’m glad you stuck with that first novel. Plus the ones that followed.