WHEN LIFE IS AT ITS BUSIEST - TAKE A BREATH

Lately I have found there is much too much to do and not enough time to look, think, ponder or even breath. Not good, especially for a creative person. Definitely not enough time to laugh - especially to laugh at life's moments.

Yesterday was the gathering of my weekly writers group at Borders. I do LOVE our Borders store. The staff and management there are so welcoming and accommodating. It's a bit like a mini-library with benefits galore.

So there we were, the six of us - gathered around our two tables pushed together, papers out, coffees on the table (hoping no one spills anything), sharing the news of the week. One of us has just been signed by an agent who sounds like she must have been a heavenly angel in her previous life. Another one has just returned from caring for a daughter-in-law who had major surgery and an elderly mother. Needless to say, she is more than qualified to writer about the "sandwich generation."

So, the assignment for the week was to read and critique one member's submission from the previous week. We go around the table - one at a time. First the summary and then page by page - punctuation, flow, typos, the whole kit and caboodle. And there are six of us, remember. The writer/submitter only gets to take notes or to answer a question if specifically asked. No defending. No clarifying unless asked. (But we are not brutal either. On the other hand, if we don't understand something, why should the writer assume any other reader will?)

I took last dibs yesterday. I have a tendency to be a bit "creative" in my critiques - offering suggestions about how a sentence might have more punch with a word change - or breaking one sentence into two - or changing one word for another. Or moving an ending paragraph to a different position. Or asking what if you did this instead of that. Just a thought, nothing more than a thought to ponder.

Well, in the middle of one of those - "think it would have more punch" kind of remarks, a gentleman from a nearby table comes by - probably on his way to get another coffee - and interjects, "I think what you all are doing is great!"

It was a bit startling, I will admit. But we are a friendly group so we turned to him and said, "thanks" - or words to that effect.

"I've been listening to you all. I think your group is just great. I teach writing at the local community college. You people are really good."

We didn't say who or what we were. It was just nice to have the "approval." Maybe he overheard something that will end up in his classroom this week.

One just never knows what will go out over the air or where it will land.

(Gee, I'm glad we weren't reviewing/critiquing a sex scene. We have been known to do that, too. Certain ones of us always want to make it more steamy. Even the gentleman in the group likes it steamy. And then there is the question of what to call certain components or actions..... We can be sooo creative. LOL)