Menopausal Mother

     Welcome to another edition of Fly On The Wall, hosted by Karen of Baking in A Tornado. Each month, several bloggers share posts on what would be seen if you were a fly on the wall in their homes. In my case, the fly went along on a road trip with me earlier this month.

     I recently returned from an adventure that proved to be one of the most entertaining weeks of my life. I'm not talking about a trip to Disney World or a vacation on a cruise ship. I'm talking about the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop, a special conference held in Dayton, Ohio every two years for aspiring writers. This was my third EBWW conference, and I swear, they just keep getting better every time. The conference offers a multitude of classes on the craft of writing, along with the opportunity to network with other writers, editors and agents. There's also a whole slew of famous keynote speakers to inspire us on our writing journey as well.

     As much as I enjoyed helpful classes on topics such as the secrets to getting published in magazines, memoir boot camp, using humor in the dark places, and busting writer's block, to me, one of the most important aspects of the conference was the camaraderie among my writer friends. We booked hotel rooms side by side, ate all of our meals together and brainstormed ideas for books, blogs, and personal essay writing. These people are my tribe, the people who encourage me to keep going when I feel like quitting. Because of them, I'm back to working on my memoir---something I had put off for awhile during a long bout of writer's block.

     Rather than go into detail about the incredible energy and excitement I felt at the conference, I'd rather express the experience in a collection of photos taken at the event. Enjoy!

   

    Welcome to another edition of Fly On The Wall group posting. 13 bloggers are inviting you into their homes today for a glimpse into their private lives. Thank you once again Karen from Baking In A Tornado for hosting these hilarious group posts!

     The past month has been a mixture of joy and sorrow for me. As many of you know, my mother passed away unexpectedly on April 4th. My family has been dealing with the loss as best we can, and  in typical Doyle fashion, using humor to get through the rough patches.

     On a lighter note, one of the highlights from earlier in the month was my trip to Dayton Ohio for the Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop conference. I had one of the best times of my life meeting many of my online blogger friends and taking educational courses to improve my writing skills. Since I don't fly, I convinced dear ol' Hubs to drive me again this year, just like he did for the last conference in 2014 (you can read all about it HERE). Being trapped in a car together for 19 hours spurred many an interesting conversation and quite a bit of binge eating. When I wasn't napping or stuffing my face with Pringle's chips and peanut M&Ms, Hubs and I enjoyed the scenery around us. I received some strange looks from people at truck stops when I climbed out of the car with my purple hair, but all in all, we had a great time.


     If you had been a fly on the wall in our car during the road trip, here are some tidbits of conversation you would have overheard:

"You know you're old when you have to drive with a knee brace on."

"I think the GPS is drunk. It keeps getting us lost. It needs its own GPS."

"How am I supposed to eat this gooey sandwich while driving at the same time? It's like trying to hold a sloppy joe behind the steering wheel. Half of the goop ends up in my lap."
"Well, at least you'll have some leftovers on your shorts for later in case you get hungry again."


"Why is it that when we leave the state of Florida, all the radio stations only play oldies music?"
"Because we're fossils who still remember all the lyrics. Most of these singers are already dead....someone must be trying to tell us something."

"Can't you drive any faster up this mountain road?"
"I'm driving a Prius, what do you expect? It's like driving a car powered by hamsters. When someone asks me if it's a four cylinder, I tell them, 'No, it's a four hamster.' And right now, I think one of them just died going up this mountain side."

"I'm an emotional drinker, and you are seriously stressing me out during this road trip. Oh look! A pub!"
"Good to know I won't need to call 911 now."

"We need to lay off on the bean burritos. This car can only handle so much gas. "
"At least it's not just one of us doing it. My farts are responding to your farts."
"Yeah---we're sharing fart emojis."

" We need to get an RV and take more road trips. We could retire early and live off our savings."
"That sounds great, but what will we do for money the following week?"

"Sometimes there just aren't enough curse words invented to meet my demands after a day like today."

"What do you mean I'd be lousy at camping? I'm an outdoorsy type of guy."
"Only if your tent comes with a large cooler full of beer."

"My legs and knees are so sore and stiff from sitting in the car for five hours, I can barely stand. It's a good thing no one is trying to rob us at gun point right now, because I wouldn't be able to run. I'd just hand over my wallet and tell them they're welcome."


THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GO OUT OF TOWN AND YOUR FOUR-YEAR-OLD GRANDDAUGHTER GETS AHOLD OF YOUR MAKEUP KIT