Let's Play!

Play has always been a big part of my life. I am a middle child of five kids, so my family memories include lots of adventures with my sister and three brothers. We always lived in rural areas and spent whole days outside climbing trees and poking crawdads with sticks. We created our own worlds in the pastures that surrounded our house. We were kings and queens and peddlers and gold miners. 

*Bossy big sister alert: when we played 

house, I made my sister be the dad so I could be the mom. I also always had to be the teacher when we played school. Sorry, Lynn!

One of our favorite pretend scenarios was that we worked at a day care, and one day, all the parents just NEVER CAME BACK FOR THEIR BABIES. They were ours, all ours! It was crazy, and must be why shows like Kate Plus 8 tend to fascinate.

As a kid, I enjoyed anything that had to do with animals. We had cats, dogs, fish, horses bids, rabbits, and more. Currently we have two cats and an Australian shepherd named Ruby who lives to fetch the (now faceless) rubber chicken again and again and again.

I also love creating arts and crafts: sewing painting, drawing. And of course, reading. I have always been an avid reader. These days, I do a lot of scrapbooking. Also, thanks to my first novel, LEAVING GEE'S BEND, I'm now a quilter. And my nightstand and e-reader are stacked with books.

I am the Queen of Taking Classes. I love learning new crafts and techniques. Stained class. Watercolor. Windchimes. Hand-tinting photographs. New on my list for this year is learning to play the fiddle. That's right, FIDDLE. Not smooth violin. Give me that plucking and swaying old tyme music!

And, most of all, I play with words. Poetry is the most fun play EVER. I am devoting the month of July to poetry and expect to write a poem a day!

Wishing all of you happy play days, too. xo