I am so glad I married into this family. You have no idea how grateful I am that of all the people I could pick to marry, I picked one with a fabulous mother-in-law. We have always talked to each other about creativity, since she is an artist and I am not. She helped me improve my sketching, and mentioned that she used to write little stories. I encouraged her to work on those stories.
When I told her about my friday nights in California, she offered to write with me here in Washington. Our first writing session was today!
We didn’t go anywhere special. We went to a Safeway store nearby and hung out at the tables next to their deli. We each got ourselves something to drink, settled down with a notebook, and wrote.
I have a confession to make. I did not work on Life of a Suburban Unicorn. I wrote a short story for the first time in two years. It felt real good. I wrote it all the way to the end, expanded on it in a few notes on deepening it, and then closed the notebook with no plans to look at the story again. I’m sure I will some day, but for now it’s okay to leave it where it’s at. In my notebook.
I guess writing that short must have triggered some memories, because I came home write away and started submitting a short story I’ve had hanging around for ages. I take it out and read it sometimes because I love it so much. I change a word or two. I put it away. Now it’s time to send it out there and see if someone else loves it. Cross your fingers.
If it succeeds, it will be my first publication under the name A.M. Kuska, and my first published story in WA. Wish me the best of luck!
A.M. Kuska's Blog 
Sep 27, 2010 @ 12:38:47
BLESS YOU, dear, for this lovely post and the wonderful words about your mother-in-law. As a mother-in-law to 2 – and I have very good relationships with both of them – I feel an “ouch” every time I hear a crack about mothers-in-law, how dreaded their visits are, what a burden they are. It’s an awful stereotype that I realize IS some people’s true experience, but not everyone’s. I, too, have an excellent MIL!
I treasure the moments I acquired first a son-in-law and then a daughter-in-law, but not the moments I acquired the title mother-in-law. It can be quite a burden to carry. Rare is the person who will say what you have said.
Sep 27, 2010 @ 15:33:24
Good luck hun! YOU CAN DO IT!! (p.s. I miss you)
Sep 27, 2010 @ 15:54:41
How nice to have a writing buddy again, and especially the mother of your husband. There is something encouraging about doing things together and in a setting where you are enjoying a drink. Perfect!