Erma Bombeck published more than 4,000 syndicated columns from 1965 until she died in 1996. I dont know how she did it.
My wellspring of creativity has run dry.
Ive tried every trick in the book writing with my left hand, taking a walk, and eating Mexican food. (The last one was my idea.) So far all I have to show for my efforts are scribbles only a pharmacist could love, a blister on my big toe, and an insatiable craving for Beano.
Maybe my writers block is due to the pressure to tickle a funny bone at a time when tears are tickling my mascara.
Oh, its nothing serious in the big scheme of things. Just a mother untying her apron strings again.
Our daughter, Traci, has moved from Washington state. Shes tied to her military husband more than to me.
Thats a good thing.
And over her lifetime there have been a lot of good things:
Her birth. I cried.
Her first step. I cried.
Starting kindergarten. I cried.
High school graduation. I cried.
Leaving home and leaving us with her huge dog. My husband cried about the dog food bill.
But tears didnt end there.
Traci married the perfect guy. I wept with joy.
Even so, Eddie or I should say the U.S. Army frequently moves our daughter and the grandkids from one end of the country to the other.
This week, they left for California.
Ive been crying again.
So the other day, I went to my bookshelf to retrieve an old favoriteone that often makes me smile. Its a collection of Erma Bombecks best columns; the book is Forever Erma.
Her many columns usually elicit chuckles. But every so often, even Erma cried, too.
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