Surprises

In my life, I have been surprised by many things. Sometimes they were pleasant, an unexpected friend enters my life or I receive a present for no particular reason. Some surprises left a sour taste in my mouth like each one of my diagnoses or a surprise Crohn’s flareup. Some surprises are so personal I’m not going to discuss them here. But I am going to list six times life surprised me in a good way. 

1. Taking a class with one of my favorite authors, Jennifer Close. I don’t often take writing classes online. One, I don’t like online classes generally. Two, even though I think even the best writers could benefit from some guidance I don’t think writers need a class to become a good writer. But as I said it was Jennifer Close so of course I had to sign up and had my writing personally evaluated by one of my favorite authors. Jennifer Close is the author of several bestsellers such as Girls in White Dresses, The Smart One, The Hopefuls and, most recently, Marrying the Ketchups. I read several when I was in the hospital and they really brightened up a tough time. I was so glad I had the opportunity to learn from her. She even gave me feedback on a book I’ve been trying to publish. Money well spent.

2. I had my first (and so far only) book signing in September 2023. I partnered with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) on a panel on the subject of suicide prevention. Several members of NAMI talked about the warning signs of suicide and the services they provided. Then I read some passages from several of my books. At the end of the presentation, I had books for purchase. Some people already had my book to sign which floored me. People had bought my book. My book! Of their own volition! It was a wonderful night. I didn’t become a millionaire but seeing my first fans in person was worth way more than any monetary amount.

3. When I was at college I had many friends. Some like Jake and Alice (their character names in Story of Hope) always had my back and proved their loyalty again and again. Some like Samantha weren’t as dependable. I haven’t spoken to Samantha since before my suicide attempt. But before we were on the outs, she was my Secret Santa in our Friendsgiving celebration. She gave me a beautiful drawing illustrated with Winnie the Pooh and his friends and decorated with quotes from the books. I truly never expected something so elaborate or labor intensive. I still have it hanging on my whiteboard just as a reminder of what we once had.

4. I have dated a bit (okay alot). Most of my relationships were short term but I still enjoyed them. However, after the pandemic I found it really hard to meet guys because a) I wasn’t in school b) I didn’t work. So  my parents (albeit reluctantly) allowed me to try online dating. I had used Tinder in the past and while I had met a boyfriend or two off of that app in the past, I wasn’t crazy about it. I found it superficial and boys kept matching with me, then commenting on my weight (“You would be so much prettier if you just lost a few pounds). I decided to try Bumble, which my friend Alice recommended to me. For those of you who don’t know, the key difference between Tinder and Bumble is that on Bumble the girl has to message first and the boy has 24 hours to respond. I matched with a super cute guy named Justin and when I saw he loved movies I sent my first text to him “What’s your favorite horror movie?” (he doesn’t like horror movies by the way). We hit it off right away and a week later had our first date. Long story short, I’m still with Justin over two years later. I deleted all  my dating apps after date number two and never looked back.

5. When I was on medical leave I attended my first Rockland Poets poetry slam. The theme was ‘women’ so anyone who identified as a woman could participate. I didn’t, not being too familiar with poetry slams at the time. But I did enjoy myself so I kept coming back. I never competed, just observed and took mental notes on what worked and what didn’t. Finally, I started competing. To my amazement, I was actually good. Sometimes I even got third place. And then I started getting second place. I was partnered with a very talented poet for our annual partner slam and the two of us won first place (which meant I got the black Rockland Poets t-shirt only winners get). After I won that slam, I had much more confidence than I had before. I knew it was only amount of time before I won by myself. And I did. So far I have won four poetry slams and I treasure every moment up on that stage. And I look forward to the night it happens again.

6. I was published in several school literary journals growing up. But I was not published in an outside magazine until I was twenty years old. I had been sending my poetry and short stories out for several months. I was staying at a friends house for a few days when I got the email that not one, not two but all five poems I had submitted had been accepted in a literary magazine. My poetry has improved since then (and I have been published elsewhere) but I will never forget the joy I felt, sitting there in my friend’s kitchen. 

(https://sicklitmagazine.com/2017/04/18/a-poetry-collection-by-catherine-moscatt/)