An Irish Christmas in October!

Oooooo ... I can't contain my excitement. I'm giddy. I'm beside myself. Someone has given me a tremendous gift ... a gift just for me.

Last year, our friends Pam and Darryl invited Don and me to a concert held at a local community college in PA, known for its great conferences and concerts. It was an Irish women's group called Cherish the Ladies and it was fabulous, fun, engaging evening. I might as well have been up on that stage myself with the way my blood felt, coursing and tripping and River-Dancing through my Emerald Isle veins. I'll never forget that evening.

Well, the other day Pam called, having recently received the college's concert/conference schedule for the year, and her voice on the answering machine was about ready to burst with excitement at an opportunity we just couldn't miss. In two weeks, a two-day event will be held for writers, featuring another Irishman: Frank McCourt, famously known for penning Angela's Ashes. I was instantly excited about this opportunity, and after a long discussion today about our workshop options, here's how our two-day adventure will unfold:

Friday afternoon: a Q&A with Mr. McCourt, followed by hors d'oeuvres and a book signing.
Friday evening: keynote address by Mr. McCourt himself
Saturday morning: opening session -- “Face First: Writing Memoir versus Writing Fiction”
Workshop #1 (Journalism): “Blogging and Beyond: Telling the Truth with Humor and Grace”
Workshop #2 (Creative Nonfiction): “Shaping Creative Nonfiction: The Truth of the Matter and the Matter of the Truth”
Workshop #3 (Nonfiction): "You May Be the Writer, but Who Do You Want the Narrator to Be?"

Somewhere in there is a buffet lunch, hopefully with an array of caffeinated beverages so I can get through all of these workshops -- I haven't exercised my brain like this in years! What I found to be interesting about the choices I/we made is that they're all focused around nonfiction and journalistic writing, rather than novels, short stories, poetry, playwriting, etc. I realized that while I devour novels and enjoy the others as well, I don't actually write any of that myself. I do, however, write nonfiction, as it turns out! I have a blog; I am the editor of my church's newsletter. Wow! It may not seem like a big deal, but it fascinated me. Maybe some day I'll add "memoir" to the list. :)

I can't tell you how thrilled I am about this. I am excited to be getting away, by myself (although I know I'll miss my family -- this solo journey will be a first for me!). I'm so happy to be spending some time with my friend, someone who enjoys literary things as much as I do. Yes, it will be difficult emotionally to go back to PA -- I'm resigned to the fact that I think it will always be a bittersweet (heavy on the bitter) journey into the Keystone State. But this opportunity is ... well, it's an early Christmas gift, just for me! Not for Don and myself, not for me and my family ... just for me. How do you thank someone for that? This is more than a grace-snack. This is putting a spring back into my proverbial step; it is reviving a part of me that has withered up; it has given me hope. Yes, hope. I'm not sure exactly how or why, but that's the word I need to use. Hope.

Life is Good.
I've made a discovery. I truly love to write.
Thank you, my friend, for showing that to me in this way -- something I would never do for myself.