Beautful Silent Slice of Heaven

I tried to be a good mother yesterday. Mostly because I knew my mother was tired (my kids wear her out!), and I knew I shouldn't neglect them just because I hand extra hands. I think I did pretty well. We took the kiddies to the library and we even stayed for story time! Have any of you gone to story time at the Provo Library? No? Yes? Well, honey, let me tell you, it's like a mosh pit of children, with tired, bleary-eyed parents looking on with grim faces. Hundreds of people (there had to be at least a hundred or more, I swear) crammed into the circle, hoping to glimpse a mediocre puppet show and story book reading. Oh, don't get me wrong, the kiddies adore it. LOVE it. I just find the whole thing a tad tedious, and so we don't go every week. But I should, you know. I really should. My kids had a great time yesterday. So, yeah. We'll go back to story time. Sigh.

After I helped feed the children and put #4 down for a nap, I headed to the conference. Today was different because we didn't have classes or a main session. We were able to mingle with some of the authors, but then it was Registrant Writing Time.
I spent approximately 4 1/2 hours listening informally to authors, buying books at the tiny make-shift bookstore (I bought Nine books by Nine different authors and tomorrow, they will all sign them for me! Hooray!), talking with the same college friend I ran into on Monday where we critiqued each other's various manuscripts, writing, editing, going through notes, and then reading. For One Hour and Forty minutes, I sat in silence and read. I read This is What I Did: by Ann Dee Ellis and I was simply mesmerised. It's a great book written from the viewpoint of a 13/14 year old boy in kind of a journal format. I truly loved this book.
The best part? Not one interruption. NOT ONE INTERRUPTION! For nearly three hours! Can you believe it? Silence and time. It was a slice of heaven. Complete slice of heaven.
By the time I drove home, the slice of heaven carried me into the house and I was more than happy to hug my children, make them dinner, and listen to their whining. Okay, maybe not so much the whining, but you know what I mean.

[Side note: My friend, Ann, taught a Healthy Eating Class for Enrichment last night. My mom came with me and we had a grand time. Ann did a fabulous job! You did, hon! You did great! I'm glad you did it. Maybe one day soon I'll post about the whole healthy eating thing since it's such a great subject...]

In closing, here's some more writing! Each day during the conference, they offer some writing contests. Usually the contestants have about three hours to read the prompt and submit their entry. Yesterday morning, the writing prompt was entitled "Clueless Author" and here were the instructions:
For Writers: Explain to your writing mentor, editor, or agent why your latest manuscript, [fill in an outrageous book title here], about [fill in an unmarketable premise here], would be a bestseller. Limit your response to 300 words or fewer. Typed or clearly hand-written entries that are double-spaced are preferred.
How exciting, eh? And now, for your entertainment, here is my entry (I have to give a shout out to Bythelbs, because it was her consistent sock monkey posts that inspired me!):

Dearest Mr. S.P. Tinklehoffer, Grand Master of Editors:

I would like to submit my latest work of genius, The Wild, Wonderful, Wacky, Wistful Wisdom of Three Tree Slugs and Four Argyle Sock Monkeys, for your
consideration. My kids love it, so I know you will too! How I have gone this
long without publishing it has surprised all of my closest relatives, especially
my mother.

The Wild, Wonderful, Wacky, Wistful Wisdom of Three Tree Slugs and Four Argyle Sock Monkeys is a story set in rural England, where, unbeknownst to all of mankind, tree slugs and sock monkeys share many of the same hopes and dreams. Relish in the world of how four humble sock monkeys and three competent tree slugs find themselves despairing over unrequited love. Mourn with them when they find, to their horror that death may be around the corner because of increased Sodium production and a sudden decrease in Scottish fashion. Rejoice when the tree slugs find their purpose within the world of the argyle sock monkeys, where both species combine for one glorious afternoon at little Susie’s tea party.

This book will change the world. I am confident that you will agree, so I am
including money for pre-production, some author photos for the book jacket, and
a tentative schedule for a nationwide book tour. My phone number is
555-555-1234, and I plan on waiting for your phone call day and night.

Can’t wait to go Bestseller!
C.S.S.

P.S. What do you choose to do when you have beautiful moments of silence without interruption of any kind? Or have you ever had those moments?