Inevitable

It was always on the cards, but now its arrived in full force!   This week both Zach and Sami went back to school, Zach to start year 9 in the senior school and Sami to begin year 7 the first year of middle school.

The kids are with me this weekend; Sami and I had a wonderful day, which included going for late lunch (she only had a ½ day of school today), and then a long stroll along the Danforth in the beautiful afternoon sunshine.  As we neared home she sheepishly asked if she could go to a friends house for a sleepover tonight.  What was I going to say but yes.  

So tonight after dinner I dropped her off at her friends house, then in the morning I’ll pick her up before her soccer game, which is her first game with her new fall league team.  
Can you say taxi service? ☺

Zach's Gr.8 Academic Award -
History & Geography
2012-13

Zach’s first few days of school this week were spent at a camp up north with all of the grade 9 boys.  Surprisingly it was the same camp as he goes to during the summer so he was familiar with the surroundings. He was tired after three days of team building activities and late nights of shooting the shit with his mates.  So I guess I was a little surprised when I picked him up after school today, he mentioned that he was going to go meet up with his friends tomorrow and hang with them.  And here I was hoping to be find something cool to do with them both...not so much.

So even though they are with me this weekends it seems to be in spirit only, maybe just for a meal or two.  Clearly they are starting to exhibit their growing independence, which is terrific, and really you wouldn’t want it any other way.   But that being said it’s me that has to adjust to the change not them…I guess that’s the hard part to accept in this equation.

Relegation to the taxi service and the “necessary” parent demands is a right of passage I suppose but sad just the same.  

As I sit here I’m trying to remember how my teenage years rolled…I guess I was no different in that I immersed myself in sports and engaged it every variety of sports known to man, mostly just to get out of the house and the family environment. Fortunately for me I know that part isn’t true for Zach and Sami.

Apparently my weekend is now somewhat freed up except for dinners and the occasional drop off – so what to do?

Fate intervened!  How so you ask?

Last night I received the Editorial Evaluation back from my publisher on the manuscript I submitted recently.  It’s always interesting to get feedback from someone who’s never read your work before. The feedback was both complimentary and to the point.  It highlighted some grammatical weaknesses that needed to be addressed but for the most part it "made the grade" and once corrected was ready to move forward to copy-editing.  

So this evening after dropping Sami I finalized the changes to the manuscript and re-submitted it.

My book cover design - hhhmmm...any ideas?

Next step is the copy-editing phase while in parallel I’m starting to work on ideas for the cover design and synopsis for the inside and back covers.  These have to be completed and ready for the design team by the end of the weekend, yes this weekend!  

Fortunately for me I'm learning a ton as I go through this process...truly fascinating to be honest.   The target is still to have it published mid to late November, prior to the holiday season, so hence the snappy turnarounds and tight schedule - trust me its all good!

When I told the kids this afternoon they were both excited about the upcoming book, and glad that it had passed the first hurdle.  I think they’re proud of me for following through and writing the book, they were especially excited knowing that the book will be dedicated it them both.

I guess its sort of cool to say that your dad just wrote and published a book. 

We'll see ☺