The only clutter, litter, disaster free surface in my entire house. Once upon a time, I didn’t comprehend the concept/phrase/quote implying that incorruption comes from corruption. It always sounded backwards to me and there was too much of the word “corruption” in it to feel like a positive statement. Then, one day, I happened to glance down at the clump of gerbera daisies growing by the walkway outside my front door and, gasp! The gorgeous deep pink petals were now sullied with a clutch of hoary seedlings with white cobwebby wisps trailing from them. It hurt my heart. I knew that dandelions did that (they do it in a much cleaner, pleasanter way) but I wasn’t expecting it from my adored gerberas. I felt the way a new mother does when someone calls her baby ugly (and, yes, I do assign my flowers, as well as my books, a kind of living, breathing humanity one would expect from only the most mentally unbalanced). (And, no, I have never had anyone tell me my baby was ugly.) (Would be a total lie, if they had, anyway) (in spite of the fact that the Big Guy’s face looked like a landslide on the one side and things were a bit askew) (but, still . . . .)
It actually made my flesh crawl to look at it. Once I got over the shock (I know, I’m weird . . .) I started to think about it. That phrase of corruption becoming incorruption came to my mind and I realized that amongst the awful corruption of that tangled mass of seeds was the possibility of rebirth for this beautiful plant in its totally incorrupt state.
Dunhaven Place. It's a thing.Fast forward to the last couple of years, very hard ones for me, mostly due to widespread health problems in our household. Most of them mine. However, out of that corruption of pain, sickness, lack of options and utter frustration has come the incorruption of possibility, opportunity and inspiration. Just like the four inch, 20 stitch scar on my face has begun to fade and heal into a thin, cancerless line, my other afflictions are still present, but much better, while having served to teach me valuable lessons about life, living, and why it is so important to protect your skin from the sun. Ain’t life grand?
As I scurry around, moving, sanding and painting furniture, painting walls of the new store, spending every other day nursing fibromyalgia pain, all while trying to make a dozen decisions at a time whilst trying not to trip over the utter and colossal mess that is my home, I remind myself that, out of this corruption will, one day, come incorruption and there will be peace and quiet in the valley once again. Or, at the very least, I will be in my neat and tidy store where I will be surrounded by order and beauty. (One can’t have everything.)
Stuff, living where I tossed it.Meanwhile, I have felt sad that I haven’t been able to fully appreciate and enjoy my blog tour as I would have liked because of all the chaos. Yet, each time I read a review written by one of the fantastic people who has agreed to read my book and blog about it (it’s a bigger deal than one might think—there’s pressure and responsibility and inconvenience) I am touched and happy and joyful. It helps me forget about all the things I am trying to do at all at the same time and how there is so much to do and not enough time, etc. etc.
Out of the chaos rises beauty and I feel peace.
Lara at Overstuffed (as in, overstuffed with blessings but could also be as appropriate to say overstuffed with beauty, brains and talent) has written such a review for Miss Delacourt Has Her Day (a whole .71 cents off the cover price on Amazon.com today!) and as has been the case with each reviewer, has found a unique and pertinent thing to say about the book and its characters. PLUS she is giving away a copy! I am overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of all these wonderful people for the time and effort they have put into reviewing my book. As for Lara, she is often the go-to source for book reviews. She’s a pro at it and I asked her to do it for MD2 because I respect her opinion so much. She is the mother of three beautiful girls and blogs about them and their happy, sad, fun, frustrating and timeless experiences which she punctuates with her own gorgeous and eye-catching photography. Thank you, Lara!!! As for the rest of you, thanks for being here to read this. Now go HERE and read that. Thank ya, kindly. And then, go to the sidebar to find out how to win some great giveaways including the gorgeous painting below!
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