Nancy Balbirer's Blog

The day my book arrived--the final--FINAL, in all its hardcover glory. I couldn't even breathe as I opened the box--I guess I was a little in shock. I thumbed through the pages, in awe of their beauty, silently thanking the tree that died for my artistic expression, marveling that all the words are ones I picked. During the lonely, often frustrating days and nights of the writing process, sometimes I'd lean back in my chair, close my eyes and try to imagine this day, the one where I'd see all the words I hadn't yet chosen, finally in place. Anyway, I didn't actually start crying until I saw the naked book, sans jacket, covered in the most beautiful clouds. Then I started crying all over again when my ex-husband showed up and I handed him a copy. "You don't have to read it, " I told him, "But I want you to have it." He nodded, smiled and said: "I'm proud of you." "Thank you," I said. "For everything."
We hugged, told each other we loved each other and then he drove our daughter to dance class.
So...we may not have had a successful marriage, but we have an extremely successful divorce.
I'm grateful for a lot of things in my life, but in many ways that most of all...