Pages

Monday, January 19, 2009

Everything is Relative! - by Holly Jacobs


Everything is Relative.

The dogs and I took three days off from our daily walks because it was soooo cold. Single digit cold. With negative temps when you factored in windchills. Today was almost balmy...we got into the twenties!! The dogs and I took two long walks. What? You’re saying. Temps in the twenties are balmy?? Hey, everything is relative.

Last week, we took less walks than normal, not because of frigid temperatures, but because our two out-of-town kids came home along with their significant others. The house was overflowing and much louder than it generally is, and it was fun... But as much as I love the kids, I was ready for some quiet when they left. Now, I know that when the kids were younger I wouldn’t have thought anything of all the chaos last week. Back then, we had all four kids still at home...college was just some far off idea. Not only our kids, we had their friends and the dogs...and fish and hamsters, a couple cats... Our house wasn’t just full, it was overflowing. A quiet day was one in which there was only an even dozen people in and out of the house. These days, quiet is mainly just me all day while the dh is working and kids are in school. My concept of quiet has changed...everything is relative.

These days, I tend to write more chaos than live it. My newest trilogy for Harlequin American Romance (Once Upon a Thanksgiving, a Christmas, a Valentine's) features three single moms who missed the first PTA meeting of the year and got “volunteered” for the Social Planning Committee. They all are balancing jobs, kids, the committee, and while they’re at it, they form a tight friendship, and fall in love.

Chaos. friends, family and love...I love to write about it all. For so many years, I lived it all. I was that PTA mom. These days, I’m less PTA and more RWA, but both offer a kinship of women. And no matter how big my kids get, they’ll always be imps, like the kids in my stories. They’re still the kids who rode bikes in to parked cars (and needed to go to the emergency room), or made a contest of throwing mudballs at the house (what were they thinking?) or even had their own bathrobe ties turned into ropes for rappelling off the garage roof... At the time I thought the only thing they were giving me were grey hairs, but in the end, what they gave me is a college-worthy education on what kids are really like that has prepared me for writing books. Hey, everything being relative, it was the best training ground ever! It's like a graduated from university with a master's degree in kids! LOL

So, let’s talk relatives...do you have any kid stories to share?? My most "active" kid was at the emergency room so often I worried they were going to send children's services after me!

Holly





15 comments:

Helen said...

What a great story Holly I know exactly how you feel I have 4 children 2 still live at home and I have 4 grandchildren and when everyone visits it is so much fun but I gotta say I love the peace when they have gone home.
Love the sound of your books

Have Fun
Helen

HollyJacobs said...

Helen,

Oh, you definitely get it!! They're fun, but quiet is fun, too! LOL Congrats on the grandkids. I practice my grandma-potential on my little nieces...I plan to rock by the time I get to the real grandchildren LOL

And thank...glad you like the sounds of the books! They were so much fun to work on. And I adore the cover for this last one (it's my little avatar pic here!)!

Holly

Estella said...

My children are grown and so are two of my grandchildren.
I had four children and I babysat(wasn't called day care and you didn't have to be licensed) six more. Four of the extras on weekends, too.
Sometimes I really thought about running away from home.

danie88 said...

I know what you mean... my house is always full of chaos. I live with my mom, her boyfriend, my grandma, my younger sister, 3 dogs, 5 cats, 2 mudpuppies, and a frog. That doesn't include all of my sisters friends coming and going all the time (they're all around 16-17 yrs old). So ya you could imagine. I used to live with my dad and we rarely had anyone over (except when we would go to his families house for the holidays) so I've been so used to "quiet" now I'm just getting used to all the chaos, but it does drive me nuts sometimes. Right now I'm in need of a break lol

HollyJacobs said...

Estella, Wow, that was a houseful!! Running away would have always been a thought for me, too! LOL Glad you stuck it out, though!

Danie, I deal with the chaos so much better when I give myself a break. One time, on a trip to Cape Cod, we'd all been in the car waaayyy too long. My dh took all the kids to the pool and left me in the hotel room by myself. Those couple hours alone restored my sanity...well, at least relatively speaking! LOL Hope you find somewhere to hide on occasion!

Holly

pjpuppymom said...

Hi Holly!

Love this series and am looking forward to reading the Valentine book. I don't have children of my own but my house has always been filled with children. I've always been the surrogate mom of the neighborhood I've lived in and neighborhood kids are in and out of my house so much it's like I have a revolving front door. lol! They come to bake cookies with me, help me clean house, play with the dogs, make holiday crafts, watch Disney movies or just to talk. It's controlled chaos, I adore it and I wouldn't have it any other way. :)

pjpuppymom said...

Of course, it probably helps that I get to send them all home to their parents at the end of the day...unless we're having a sleepover, of course. ;-)

HollyJacobs said...

PJ, Every neighborhood needs someone like you!! I'm sure the kids love it! And yes, it does help that you can send them home! LOL I adore my nieces, spoil them like crazy, but that sending them home thing makes it nice! LOL

And thanks...I'm so glad you're enjoying the trilogy! I hope you like Carly's story!

Holly

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
LJ White said...

I have two very active girls but your last comment about kids and hospitals made me think of myself as a kid. I was an accident prone kid and some of the nurses did know me by name in the emergency room. One time I was there twice in one day. The first time was for dislocating my ankle and the second time was for falling down the stairs while using my cruches. I ended up going in an ambulance the second time and the same nurses where working and I remember hearing, "Didn't we just send her home a few hours ago?" I'm so glad my girls don't take after me.

HollyJacobs said...

LJ, Twice in one day?? You so win...uh, but I'm not sure it was a contest you should want to have won! LOL

I'm glad your kids don't take after you as well...at least in that!

Holly

LJ White said...

I forgot to mention that my brother broke his arm less than a week before my double trip to the ER, so yes my family was well known there. It got to a point where people were surprised if I wasn't on crutches or using a sling. LOL

HollyJacobs said...

Oh, LJ. Ouch. Please, call your mom tonight and tell her I feel a certain kinship with her, okay?? LOL

Holly

Unknown said...

Oh yeah, I have three kids. My middle guy was in the ER three times within a week getting stitches. We did get questioned when he was 7 and he went in for his first set of stitches. He played football so he had bruises on his legs and arms from tackles and whatnot but when the Dr asked him he was like hmmm maybe I fell off my bike, I don't know. You could tell at first they thought we were beating the child until they talked to him more. He was in there for stitches on his chin that time from hockey. He decided to play without a helmet.

HollyJacobs said...

Oh, man, Kim...don't you wish you could deadbolt his helmet on??? Glad they talked to him long enough to figure it out! LOL

Holly