“The girls” were here the other weekend. That’s my roommates from college. Hard to believe how long we’ve been together, but I can’t imagine my life without them. It’s amazing and wonderful how we can get together (that’s in person and not just email) and pick up the conversation as though we’d talked the day before. It helps a lot that we don’t ever have to go into the backstory. We lived it together.

There are five of us – so different in appearance and passions and beliefs. A redhead, a brunette and a few blondes, probably all helped by chemicals now but who cares. I met them at such a pivotal time in my life. Leaving home for the first time for all of us, we banded together and grew each other up.

We dated together, got married together (all intertwined in each other’s weddings), had babies together and those kids grew up thinking of each other as cousins. I remember my son asking if the kids coming over were friend cousins or cousin cousins, and being happy with either one. The kids are still in touch even without us. One of my favorite pictures of Hubby is him in a hammock completely covered with one-year olds from one of our gatherings. All those kids got a copy of that picture in their high school graduation album. Now the kids are getting married and we’re losing our parents together. But to replace that loss some of us are becoming grandparents ourselves – a much easier thing to contemplate now than when we met.

Is it any wonder with these incredible examples that I write strong, independent, sometimes kick-ass women who might not like what they have to do, but can handle it. Hell, they can handle anything, and rustle up lunch while doing it.

If you haven’t read Rth Rising, give it a try. You’ll see what I mean.  And Learning Trust will be out June 17.

Thanks, Guys!

Don’t you love it when things just pile in on top of each other!! I’m in another blog hop – but it is a special time of year for me, so I’m indulging myself….

Of course I had to participate in this! Easter is my day. Really! I have to lay claim to it because I was born on it and got married on it. The first I had little control over, the second was kind of contrived.

The story of my birth was that Daddy was at the hospital and spotted the Easter Bunny trying to hippity hop down the hall but he had a baby in his basket and it was just too heavy. Daddy offered to take the baby off his hands to help out, but what Daddy really wanted was a chipmunk. Really, that’s the story I grew up with.  I still have a telegram from one of my aunts (who must not have loved me very much) offering the suggestion that they name me Easter and call me Essie. Fortunately that didn’t stick, though I was “James” for a couple of days, since they weren’t expecting a girl.

Now the wedding was different. I’m from a tiny town, maybe 3,000 people on Sunday morning when everyone’s home. So I go to my childhood church to make arrangements and there’s already a wedding that Saturday – who knew there were two women in town that weren’t already married, so I got shifted to Sunday – Easter Sunday. The florist loved that. It was also April 15, Tax Day. At least he’s never forgotten our anniversary.

Even though hubby groans about it, the kids still get Easter baskets – I don’t care that they’re both grown and gone. I got one as long as Momma was alive, so it’s only fair. Us Easter chipmunks have to stick together . . .

Come on and leave a comment – that’s two books I’ll be giving away – one with each hippity hop…

Check  out who else is on the hop    http://thebloghopspot.com/event-page/

When I spotted Carrie Ann’s request I had to jump in – My birthday is April 5. Happy Birthday fellow Aries!

Growing up we had a rule in the house – you only got a birthday party every three years. That actually worked out very well—1, 4, 7, 10, 13 and 16—Most of the high spots. After sixteen it turned into an annual slumber party, but the parents did forgive me for that eventually.

Funny, but it’s the in-between years I remember better. One year, probably when I was 11 or 12, I took a friend to the movies, one of my first horror flicks and we watched the entire movie through button holes in my coat, because we were completely covered and terrified. Another year I took a friend to a new kind of ice cream parlor—they made super servings with up to sixteen scoops of whatever you wanted. The problem, as I look back, was that everyone ate out of the same huge bowl.  That wasn’t too bad with one person, but we watched a group of kids slurping out of such a bowl, all over each other. Never went back and the place didn’t last long.

However, I think my favorite birthday is one that usually isn’t chosen by most people—the year I turned 30. I’m not a masochist, honest. And in the interest of full disclosure, I don’t really remember my 30^th birthday. No, I was not drunk, not even a little. My son was born exactly one month before that day. So I was in my 20’s when I became a mother, barely. Turning 30 kind of slid by without the angst of “OMG! 30!!” because of him. I was too busy and much too happy. I still am.

Now, please leave a comment! One lucky bloke will win an copy of my eBook – Rth Rising!  And you’ll be entered in the contest for the Birthday Blog Hop.  Thanks!

And now as an extra prezzy I’m up for best first chapter and cover – http://dreneebagbypresentsfirstchapters.blogspot.com/2012/03/rth-rising-by-donna-steele.html   A really good birthday….

I did an interview with Linda Mooney- and no I do not have an accent…

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/other_worlds_of_romance/2012/03/27/donna-steele-is-my-guest-author-on-march-26th