Alive and Well
Well, looks like it's been several years since I wrote a life update here. After everyone pretty much left Livejournal and went to Tumblr (which I can't stand) and Twitter (which makes me feel like I'm shouting into the wind) I now spend most of my time posting silly cat memes and other memes I find funny to Facebook. I've put a lot more effort into my writing, over the past years since I became a full-time freelance writer. I've written both nonfiction and fiction, including more than 30 nonfiction books for kids. My fiction plods along at a snail-like pace, but I'm still at it, and have published six books and some short stories so far. Lately I have been getting more into marketing, which is a good thing for my silly cat book. It seems to be doing best of all my fiction though I'm working on improving that. My website is xuwriter.com for anyone who's interested.
On the personal side, I've had some significant gains and losses. My out-of-state daughter got married and now has four children with another one on the way! Wow! I'm thrilled but I didn't expect her to have so many kids. I don't get out there to visit them as much as I would like but hopefully over the next few years that will change. My mother died suddenly 4 years ago, and my younger brother died of cancer at the end of January this year. I didn't get to say goodbye to my mom, though I knew she loved me and vice versa. I was there at the end for my brother when he took his last breath. I'm certain he waited for me to get there, which seemed appropriate since he always wanted me to take care of him as his big sister. I did the best I could though it involved fretting over him for pretty much my entire life. He had significant mental health issues that kept him from working or having a family of his own, and when I look back on my life, his condition has been my greatest heartbreak. He was cremated and buried in the same plot as my mom, which will also hold the cremated remains of my dad when he goes. I feel good that they will all be together in the end.
I've always been the one that struck out on her own in the family. I'm lucky enough to have my husband with me and have an expanding family, though there's a sense of particular loss at surviving when my closest family members have gone. My extended family is all thousands of miles away so I haven't been close to them to the extent I would have liked. My husband's family is here and I'm lucky to have them even though we only pretty much have his mom and our sister-in-law and kids left. They are a blessing as well.
Fannish wise, I'm still watching Supernatural even though it will be gone in a few episodes. I haven't had the passion for anything else like it and I would be surprised if I ever did again (though I would certainly welcome it). Now I'm ready for people to be fannish about my work:-). Some of my favorite shows are Witcher, Kingdom, Evil, The Last Kingdom, and Schitt's Creek for, well, shits and giggles.
We're here quarantined but healthy and I hope you are the same. I'm not sure anybody is even going to read this but if so I hope you will say hi.