What happened to August? Normally, August and January vie for the longest months of the year. Yeah, I know other months have the same number of days. But temperature extremes associated with the first and eighth months make them drag for me.

Not this year. Cooler, wetter weather helped. It’s still plenty hot, but not oppressive. We haven’t had enough rain to bust the drought, but lawns and landscapes look better than usual for the season. Dad’s double-orange day lilies are thriving and I’ve only had to water them once.

August 2012 was a milestone month and an emotional roller coaster. I buried my father and got an advance for my first novel. In between, I traveled across Georgia to introduce the curriculum I’ve been working on for more than a year at my day job.

My peace with Dad’s passing is the result of my writing career. We didn’t have the best of relationships when I was growing up. I’ve spent most of my life wondering what was wrong with me to make him treat me like he did. Writing the memoir forced me to examine my childhood through the eyes of an adult. It wasn’t easy—I saw a therapist for more than a year to help sort it all out.

I worked through it. When I got to the other side, I understood that his actions were more about his issues than mine. In fact, it had never really been about me at all.

My anger, however, was ALL about me and what I thought he should have done to make me happy. Therapy helped me to walk in his shoes for a different perspective. Looking at things through his eyes showed me that the glass I’d always seen as empty looked pretty full to him. Thankfully, I figured this out in time for my last visit with him, two weeks before he died.

Life goes on. The upcoming release of Until Thanksgiving keeps my attention focused on the future. Networking with established authors, writing posts for their blogs, and coming up with a marketing plan has kept me very busy.

I’m caught up at the office and with all the writing I needed to do for blog swaps. Yesterday I worked on After Christmas Eve and have another 5000 words ready for my critique group.  The roller coaster is pulling into the station. I’m hoping it stops long enough for me to step off. Someone else can have my turn. Really. I’m ready for a break here in…

My Glass House