Putting Words to Paper: Check Out November's Parents Magazine

My cell phone very conspicuously rang yesterday at my physician's appointment. It was hanging in my bag right below a gigantic sign reading "Absolutely NO cell phones" while the dermatologist I've been seeing since childhood checked the same old moles and their new colleagues for signs of revolution and mutation.*

After leaving the office, I made a return call in the elevator. Jim said "I'm driving back to work, and I have a November issue of Parents with me." Well, faster than homeland security can search that statement for coded meaning, I am in the car driving toward the nearest bookstore.

Why the sudden acceleration to buy a magazine I already subscribe to? Because my article appears on page 152. It's "The OMG Guide to Parenting Disasters." Written months ago, I didn't know exactly when it might appear.

I resisted the urge to show the my driver's license and the byline to everyone in Borders (saving that kind of shamelessly excited bragging for, well, this post). Back in my car, I opened the magazine and took it all in. My body rang with electricity as I held the concrete reality of print publication.

Wow. Thank you, Judy (I owe you a cupcake) for inviting me to write and providing such great support and editing. You and Parents gave me an opportunity to fulfill one of those long-shot lifelong dreams.

*Important medical note: I made this skin check-up appointment the day after I drove my dear friend (36 years old) home from Moh's surgery to remove facial skin cancer. My friend's cancer (which she thought was a persistant pimple) taught me that skin cancer can strike any skin type at almost any age. Even though it's not always easy to get to the doctor, it is important to get regular check-ups.