I really should be getting myself to bed. Actually I should have done it an hour or so ago, but here I sit, procrastinating again. Well, it’s not really procrastination; it’s more that with the schedule I’ve been keeping, my brain just isn’t ready to give it up for the night. Not yet.
And I know I’m going to regret it in the morning when the alarm starts blaring at five-thirty, but I need to keep the car so I can keep an appointment with my eye doctor. The doctor who will, hopefully, release me to drive after more than two years. At the appointment I intend to drive to tomorrow.
Yeah. Okay. So I’ve been cheating. Sort of. Technically I was released from vision therapy sixteen months ago. And even more technically, I was supposed to start some driving ‘lessons’ with an instructor who specializes in head injuries nineteen months ago (to make sure my depth perception was back to normal), until the insurance company decided I was fine and canceled them.
So anyway, since I couldn’t get an appointment until August, I decided I was going to try driving a little when I got the pool membership in June. It’s only a mile from my house and I knew my depth perception was fine again. And I was right. Two and a half months with no problems, except being nervous after having been chauffeured everywhere for so long. After a couple of weeks, I even started driving to the grocery store and a few dental appointments.
Now I just need the official release so I don’t have to feel guilty anymore.
However…
That’s not really why I wanted to write a blog before I head into bed (so I can toss and turn for the next three hours). Nope, I have an even better reason.
I have tried, off and on, for a few years now to locate the student teacher from my ninth grade creative writing class. I remembered her name, her husband’s name and very little other information to help me find her.
But one night, not too long ago, I was extremely bored…and even more determined, so I did a Facebook search. And I found her name all right. Lots of them. So many, in fact, that I’m surprised my chin didn’t hit the keyboard. My determination didn’t waver though, and I started checking out every single profile, until I found one that looked promising.
And I sent her a quick, poorly worded, straight to the point Facebook message. What can I say, it was late and as is usually the case at that hour of the morning, my brain was begging me to let it sleep.
Are you wondering what happened?
I heard back from her tonight…and she is the same student teacher I’ve been looking for so long! I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I was. Kind of like my daughter was the day she got to meet Bucky Covington, privately, because she was too young to get into the saloon he was performing at.
After all this time I still consider this woman to be my mentor because, but for her, I might never have had the courage to write that first, embarrassingly immature book. While I can’t recall the exact words, every time I begin a new book, I remember her encouragement after reading my earliest efforts at writing. And I have always, always wanted to find a way to thank her.
And now I have the opportunity to do exactly that…and to get to know her all over again.
So, Linda Marks…from the bottom of my heart thank you! Because of you, I have spent countless hours doing one of the things I love the most in the world.
And now I’m going to make my way into my hopefully chilly bedroom, where I might get some relief from the mosquitoes (which, incidentally, I still hate with a passion!). Maybe I’ll even manage to get a little sleep…. 🙂
