Meg's In Print!

Here's a newsflash: after several submissions to the magazine Highlights' "Your Own Pages," followed by several gentle rejections, Meg received the following letter early this month:

Dear Margaret:
Thank you for sending us your inspiring illustrated poem, "The Actress," a while ago. The other editors and I enjoyed seeing it. We have posted a copy of your work on our Web site, HighlightsKids.com, and we have enclosed a printed copy of the Web page for you... your work can be found in the March 2015 area; keep hitting the green right arrow button until you find your work.
[...]
We hope you'll continue to use your creative talents to bring joy to yourself and to those around you! Best wishes from all of us here at Highlights.
Sincerely,
Christine French Cully
Editor in Chief

I'm including the printed copy they sent with her letter, but you should really check out the real thing here! (Keep hitting the green arrow until you see Meg's contribution, titled "The Actress".)

Congratulations, Sweet Pea! Way to persevere until you saw this wish come true!

Back to Work

So here's the thing about me and blogging: it's something I enjoy, and it's something I value for my family's sake, but perhaps more than either of these things, it's a creative outlet. This means that when I have another creative outlet, blogging slips down the priority list a little bit. I still try to keep up with it, for the sake of preserving memories and keeping folks updated, but when I have some other project the blog doesn't call me quite as loudly and persistently.

I tell you this because I know the frequency of posts here has fallen off considerably in the last month. Initially, this was because of Dad's death, which stunned and sapped all of us for a bit. Then, the week after Dad passed, I took on some part-time work for the children's ministry at our church. My job is to plan the weekly small group activities for the 1st-5th grade class--discussion questions, games, crafts, that kind of thing. I'm only working a few hours a week, but I spend a good bit of mental energy spinning ideas even when I'm not on the clock. It's been tons of fun so far, and it's a direct investment in the kids at our church, so... win-win.

Wait, did I title this post "Back to Work?" I just realized that might imply that I haven't been working for the last nine years. Come to think of it, "Back to the Work Force" would be a much more accurate representation of the facts. Can I get a witness, fellow stay-at-home moms?