I had had two short nights of sleep in a row, finally falling into bed late Friday night after this cool candlelight concert of 90s music performed by a string quartet.
So back to crashing into bed Friday night: Hubby asked if he should wake me for 8:30 Jiu-Jitsu class the next morning.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Maybe my body needs sleep. If I don’t wake up in time, leave me be.”
Did I wake up in time?
It’s been a while since I’ve heard a great #OnlyInJiuJitsu line, and that one certainly qualifies. HRH was reminding me how to do a footlock, not remotely hiding her disbelief that I couldn’t remember.
It’s really depressing, though not surprising, how much I’ve forgotten. Feeling like a brand new student to Master Cycle rather than a bonafide kick butt warrior blue belt* like I once was, is a bummer. *Quiet, HRH. It’s how I felt, okay!?!
When I woke up Saturday morning for the 8:30 class and noted that HRH had messaged me at 12:03 am, I was concerned that she wouldn’t be making it to class with me. Sure enough, she had no babysitter. I would have to brave the boys class solo.
When it was time to partner up that morning, I hung back, letting the dudes do their duding. Instructor, being conscientious of the situation, paired me with Crockett. I was relieved. I did at least know him from before I left, though he was still in the class below mine then. Otherwise, partnering for the first time with a stranger is always a little awkward. Remember that Li’l Trejo incident?
I know. I know. Writing’s not as much fun as Jiu-Jitsu, but this is important, not to mention half my blog’s name.
My mom is friends with a librarian in charge of ordering new books, so she sent her a copy of mine for consideration. I believe the woman has been a librarian for decades. Therefore, her feedback, which was great to “uh-oh”, is valuable.
Here’s what she said, the great part:
Wish I Was Here is fantastic! I loved the story and pacing and characters! Love Ilsa’s style! An absolutely thrilling, suspenseful, engaging novel!
I read it in two nights. Loved every vowel, every syllable. My only complaint is it kept me up past my bedtime!
We cannot let this title go unnoticed. Two thumbs up, five stars, and fireworks! I’ve not been this excited about a teen book for quite some time!
Not bad, right? Now the uh-oh part:
Going back to New Year’s Eve when the decision was made for me to return to Jiu-Jitsu, Hubby said, “I hope you’ll be able to sleep tonight.” I laughed.
But he was right.
It was the same the next night, too. The night after that was the one before my first class. I drugged myself, and Hubby volunteered to sleep on the couch to give me the best chance at restful sleep.
What a guy!
When I woke up for the 8:30 class, coffee and some leftover Christmas limoncello Panettone were ready for me. (Again, what a guy!)
Eyes baggy and looking like a trash can that had been knocked over, rained on overnight, and even passed over by a hungry raccoon, I was on my way!
One of the first things Janis at Retirementally Challenged said to me when we finally met up (we’re in the same county for goodness sake!) was, “Why have you lost your blogging mojo?”
Funny she should ask. On the drive down, Hubby and I had been discussing the issue: namely, I was ashamed to admit that I hadn’t returned to Jiu-Jitsu after breaking my foot in May. How could I tell you all? How would I explain? Did I really want to publicly admit the dream was over?
It didn’t help that Andrea commented on one of my posts, essentially, “Yeah, yeah, great about the book stuff, but where are the Jiu-Jitsu stories?!” I’m paraphrasing slightly.
I also felt guilt-ridden when I came across Jacqui’s comment about me to someone else on her blog:
This was my third year teaching a girls’ self defense summer camp. I wore a boot for my not-quite-healed broken foot, but I made it work.
The last day was a flurry of fast-paced review, interrupted briefly by what the girls called “story time” for which they gathered around me in a semi-circle.
I’d already given a speech about situational awareness and how their level of alertness should go up as the comfort of their surroundings goes down. (And for goodness sake, don’t be looking at your phone.) This time I gave them real talk about danger from non-strangers and what to do if a relative, family friend, or future coworker makes them uncomfortable.
At the end, one of them said, “That wasn’t a very fun story.” So I added, “Then you grab their head and smash your knee in their face!”
They all shouted, “Yay!”
Not even kidding. It always amuses me how stiff and quiet they are the first few days. By the end,
Anyway, here’s something funny and ironic. How many of you caught the typo in my last post?
“Despite all the work, I know stuff it still going to get missed.”
Wow.
… before my old schedule was up.
Did I freak any of you out? Talk about click bait.
But it WAS the last class for Blue Belt before he left for four years of optometry school out of state. There were lots of hugs, group or otherwise. Instructor, trying not to get teary-eyed, reminisced about Blue Belt’s first day, showing up in pajamas saying, “You teach Jiu-Jitsu?! Cool. I want to try it!”
Instructor said, “I knew he’d become a stud.”
Pirate bought him a farewell gift of one of the new green Jiu-Jitsu shirts, specific to our gym, so he won’t forget where he came from, I suppose.
It was sad losing a “family” member who was one of the earliest students since the gym’s founding in 2020. Surfer Dude, then Balloon Man, then Blue Belt have been there the longest.
But back to ME. I was sad too, okay?! It was my last class with the old 3-per-week schedule.
It was also a great class.
Should I cut back on Jiu-Jitsu or not?
The biggest stressor in my life right now is an impossible deadline to finish book two of my YA trilogy. The editor said I should submit the sequel when book one is in presale. That’s possibly in September. Zero chance I’ll be done by then–with draft 1 and 2, maaayyybe, but the final, at least 20th, draft? Not a chance.
I need more time. There’s the job, the kids, the house, laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, checking 2nd grade math homework, etc. Something has to give. You may have already noticed blogging has mostly “given,” as in, I’ve not been around much.
There’s also the book reading. I have three for which I need to write reviews. And my boss wants me to clean up transcripts of interviews she’s done and compile them into a book.
She and I were at a conference recently where, at the “VIP poolside dinner,” I met a woman with the most intriguing story that includes seven years of homelessness before a radical transformation. When dinner was over and everyone stood, I ran to her side of the table and said, “You are so amazing. Will you please be my friend?”
My Jiu-Jitsu instructor came over to help when I was attempting to do a move with Hip Rad Heroine (Mark’s HRH guess). Instructor said something then, “Did you just roll your eyes at me?”
“What? No!” I said, horrified. “I just looked at her and then back at you.”
“Sheesh. The attitude on this one,” he said with an expression of wild disbelief.
At first I was mortified. Then I realized he was messing with me.
Another time, Instructor was heel hooking my good ankle–the one not wearing a protective sleeve.
Writing and Martial Arts 