To be published

In February, 2008, Dave took the boys skiing and Laurel and I geared up for a gal's weekend at home. I decided she and I would scrapbook. Being our third child, Laurel's representation in any of our photo albums was woefully inadequate, which was an utter shame, since in my completely unbiased opinion she had been unquestionably the cutest three-year-old ever. Here's proof:

But now she was seven, old enough to do a little scrapbooking of her own, and at the perfect age for "Anne of Green Gables," which my Canadian friends had introduced to me at college. I requested the 10-hour DVD series from the library to watch while we worked, and we were looking forward to our mother-daughter weekend.

As I should have guessed, the request took longer than expected and the DVDs were stuck in transit over the weekend, so we headed to Blockbuster and picked up a bunch of other favorites.

I couldn't resist "Music and Lyrics" with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. The beginning pseudo-'80s music video is hilarious, and I love that Grant, the washed-up star of the fictitious group Pop! is booked for a 1987 class reunion (that's my year!), but I really love how the entire movie talks about the creative process as Alex Fletcher and Sophie Fisher try to put together music AND lyrics. The movie is chock-full of great lines, but the best one doesn't come up on any movie quotes websites. Someday I will have to watch it again and write down word for word when Alex tells Sophie that she has too much talent to let anyone stop her from standing.

Then we took a Jane Austen trip with "Emma," "Pride and Prejudice," and "Sense and Sensibility." On a slower part in "Sense and Sensibility," which has our man Hugh Grant in the male lead, Laurel said, "I keep waiting for him to sing, 'Pop! Goes my heart." I had a good laugh at that.

After reveling in Jane Austen's stories, I couldn't resist finally seeing "Becoming Jane," the story of author Jane Austen's life.

Sometime during the weekend, Laurel developed a high fever, so we were completely home bound. We kept the DVDs coming.

We watched "Little Women," enjoying the story of four sisters growing up in New England during the Civil War. I'd read "Little Women" plus a number of other books by Louisa May Alcott growing up.

Then we got the message that "Anne of Green Gables" was ready for pick-up from the library, and we were transported to beautiful Prince Edward Island and captivated by the story of a red-headed, spunky orphan girl who finds a home in Avonlea with Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert. We loved Anne's dramatic rendition of "Lady of Shallot," and regretted her refusal to acknowledge Gilbert for saving her from drowning.

By the time we'd worked our way to the final DVD, the boys regrettably were home from skiing. When Anne gets her package from the post office and it's her BOOK, her book of stories about the people of Avonlea, and she takes it to Gilbert, who had encouraged her to write it in the first place, but is now terribly sick on his deathbed until she shows it to him and she tells him she loves him and he gets a new lease on life, I am a complete mess.

"Hey look, Mom's crying!" I look up, wishing Colorado had been a few more states away. Of course I'm crying. Don't they realize Anne finally got her BOOK PUBLISHED? Then Laurel, who previously had been my comrade-in-arms tattles on me.

"She's cried at the end of every movie," the little snitch says.

And I realize we've had a common theme. The climax of nearly every movie was a book being published. And yes, I cried when Jane Austen became a published author, celebrated at a book signing, the center of attention in a roomful of people listening to her read selections from her works. Yes, I cried when Jo received in print the stories she labored on of her and her sisters' lives and loves.

And although I was happy for Jane, Jo, and Anne, I couldn't help wondering, "What about me?"

"When will it happen for me?" And the scary one:  "Will it ever?"