Author of The Starlight Series

The second child of my second child, Stephanie Lynette Carpenter was born April 1, 1992.  While she is anticipating her eighteenth birthday in two days, I mark the milestone with swallowed tears.  Not tears of sadness for her, mind you, but for me.  I can be a selfish sort at times.  I know it is in the natural order of things, but I also know that she is within months of beginning a new phase of her life.  I have three older grandchildren: Nick, Scott (Stephanie’s older brother), and Jessica, whom I featured in this blog on January 28th.   Stephanie is the youngest of the four, the last grandchild, the one I refer to as icing on the cake.

Stephanie has many names: Steph, Steffi, Carp, Stepher, Stepherino, you get the drift.  I have heard my son refer to her as “Sis,” a name my father used for me.  I found it strange that my son uses that term, for not once did I call my daughter “Sis.”  I didn’t like it.  I know it is an endearing term, but I felt diminished by it for some reason.  I like “Stephanie,” a name with strength and character, as well as femininity.   It will serve her well.

Stephanie’s birthdate was chosen by her mother, who weighed the probability of teasing of her child’s having an April 1st birthday against the distinct possibility of a sudden onset of labor.  She had already undergone a C-section, following a long, harrowing labor when her son was born; and she knew the second child would be delivered by the same process.  So we have an April 1st harbinger of Spring every year in Stephanie.

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“Oh, you little contrary pup!”

For years I have joked that I can remember the early morning in February when I was born.  It’s not true, of course; but I am able to recall incidents from my very early childhood, even toddler years.  One of the earliest is the voice of my exasperated mother, tired of trying to convince me to either do or not do, whatever direction I was headed at the moment.  One thing is certain: I was determined to do the exact opposite of what she had told me. (more…)

The only event comparable to becoming a parent is becoming a grandparent.   My husband, Glenn, and I have, in chronological order, a daughter and a son; and they each have two children, a son and daughter apiece.  Since my first post was titled: New Year, New Ventures, I want to begin a series of four segments, a story/tribute to the joys we have experienced, an ongoing process, with each of our grandchildren.

Jessica

Ah, yes, I can hear you now!  A cyberspace grandmother’s brag book!  There is a reason that today should be the launch of this series.  Today is the birthday of Jessica, our second granddaughter, our daughter’s second child. Today she is twenty-two, a senior at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnaise, IL.  Birthdays are special in our family, and we don’t like being unable to celebrate them together.  This is my way of sharing Jessica’s birthday, the day that brought to us someone with a rare beauty of both body and spirit. (more…)

It seems to me that everyone must have an addition to something.  Perhaps we wouldn’t call it that; we are more likely to think of it as a passion, maybe a strong affinity, even a favorite.  As for me?  I have addictions, things I absolutely refuse to abandon.  Has it always been so in my life?  To quote a Palin phrase: “You betcha!” (more…)

Books, words and reading are things that represented the best of all possible worlds to me, from the time I was in the first grade.  I received my first library card at the age of eight.  I often pulled down from the shelves books much too large, filled with words I could not read; but I knew that magic was inside them.

My writing career was launched in 1949, sitting at my desk in Mrs. Katherine Cox’s fourth grade class.   Located on the second floor of East Side Grade School in Arcola, Illinois, the room held the same aroma that permeated the whole building: the  scent of aged wood and brick; the clean, innocent sweat of children; white chalk upon a blackboard of slate; wet woolen mittens drying on winter radiators; autumn and spring breezes flowing through the tall open windows; in short, a place conducive to learning. (more…)

If it’s true that one is never too old or too entrenched inside their comfort zone to make a change, then I’m ready to begin a new endeavor: this blog!  However, I must give a large portion of credit to my cousin, John, and his son, Chris, for dragging me, sometimes kicking and screaming, into this new world. Without their encouragement and hours of working on the new sites and pulling me along, I never would have attempted such a thing.

In the days/weeks/months ahead, I plan to post some new stories on the redbudgrove.com site, stories that are not in the first Starlight book, but should have been.  So many readers have expressed regret that the series ended, so we will just take a retro look back at Sissy’s old world, when it was still new to her.

There will be yet another site.  I think John has titled it “The Best of BEC,” or something similar.  When it’s ready, I will post other stories and probably some poetry, perhaps even a lesson or two on the process of writing, possibly even oil painting.  John’s ambitions are worthy of a CEO’s! (more…)