"A very spirited Juliet"

March12 193
this morning's paper

Kevin and I slept in this morning. Indoor soccer season *at 8am for six-year-olds! is finally over. We must have been tired.

When we finally dragged ourselves out of bed, I picked up my phone to check messages. Here is the first one I saw: "Congratulations on your Globe review, Carrie. You're probably going to want to read this one."

Without saying a word, I beelined for the porch, retrieved today's Globe & Mail, flipped through to the Arts section, and to Books. And found my own self-portrait, which my brother tells me has a Zoolander flavour to it (nooooo!). I also found a really solid review of The Juliet Stories. Exhale.

And then Fooey came to see. "I found your name, Mommy!" She tried to sound out the headline: "sp, sp, sp ..." And then Albus asked if he could have the section. It has the funnies in it.

At dinner the other night one of the other writers with whom I was reading said a good review is like a sugar rush. This feels like a caffeine high. I'm not sure it's quite healthy. Don't get me wrong, I am not arguing in favour of bad reviews, not at all. It's that attention of any kind has an unpredictable effect on the human spirit. It's a dangerous flirtation. This may be my Mennonite roots showing. Guarding against vanity; humility of spirit.

But this is a good and happy and out-of-the-ordinary moment in my life.

So on behalf of all Obscure CanLit Mamas out there, I embrace this unsettling rush, with deep appreciation for a continuing dream. My feet are off the ground -- one flash-frozen stride in a long journey.

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