family

This is my attempt at a Christmas letter?

December 22, 2022 By danabowmancreative Leave a Comment

This is not me. This is a stunt Christmas lady.

So. A quick update:

We just got back from a visit to family. So, you know, laundry. You know the rule of travel, right? Leave with one small suitcase each. Return with fourteen loads of laundry and no socks.
We don’t really have access to our laundry room right now because a guy whose name I have asked three times but still can’t remember, so I just say “Hiiiii!” very casual-like when I see him, which is ALL THE TIME – he is welding something in our kitchen. The kitchen leads to the laundry room because domesticity is strong in this house. So it’s very awkward AND semi-dangerous to go in there. #alliwantforchristmasissocks
The Welding Guy is also accompanied by: Scott the contractor, two plumbers (unnamed variety but also very nice), loud noises, the dust of a million dusty things, dust that seeks revenge, dust that is like that one ex that just keeps showing years later with absolutely no clue how to read the room and stay away, dust that has paw-prints in it, a coffeepot that now makes coffee with dust, and a partridge in a pear tree.
The Christmas Spirit is sort of dusty.
I can’t find the: tape, scissors, my sanity, wrapping paper (it’s upstairs behind all the dusty things we moved upstairs from downstairs because kitchen), and the Christmas gifts I made SURE to buy early because I knew this would be stressful. I put them in a safe place. As is the way.
I am still very grateful the remodel is happening. I promise. I am not looking a dusty gift horse in the mouth.
I just seventeen dollars worth of Reese’s because stockings, and that is really all we need. Chocolate and the love of family. God bless us, everyone.

I hope your Christmas is merry and bright and full of love and chocolate also. I am so very grateful for you, my readers. We are blessed to have a warm home, a healthy family, and a roaring sense of humor. May you be blessed as well.

Here you go: My Annual Top Ten Thankfuls!

November 24, 2022 By danabowmancreative 3 Comments

I don’t really remember how long this tradition goes back in my blog. I know I’ve been posting my thankfuls wayyyy back on Momsie (the blog that started it all). Here’s one that I wrote the PROVES BRIAN AND I ARE STILL MARRIED , which was an exciting read. Also, there’s lots of badly lit pictures of Steve on that post, so there you go. Biggie Meows ALWAYS was on my thankful list, and yes I still miss him.

And as one who really understands the concept of gratitude (being in recovery is an automatic pass into Land Of The Super Grateful because we can’t help ourselves. We’ve made it out alive, after all. Not everybody gets to be so lucky) I LOVE to post my Top Ten Thankfuls. It just makes me happy.

So away we go:

10. New opportunities. I am currently working on getting certified to become a book coach with these folks. The program is a LOT. Like, I think it will take me about six months if not longer to get there. There’s homework. My sons and I work together now, muttering and typing (why do muttering and typing always seem to go together?) But the program is exciting as it is rigorous, and as a writing instructor AND a writer, I think it will be a perfect fit.

9. Running. I’ve been running at least three times a week now. I started out walking every other block, and now I am able to run it all. 🙂 I’m proud of myself for this. Last year, I had pretty much decided running was no longer possible, but I really missed it. I missed the feeling of my feet on the pavement, and that glorious and painful sprint at the end. I missed the cold mornings. So, look at me, running again. It’s a flipping miracle. Also, on the days that my run feels like I’m jogging through peanut butter I’m going to go back and read this post to, uh, adjust my attitude. I think that should be a new hashtag, btw. #peanutbutterrun

8. Um… my health? I don’t know how to sum this up, but this past year health-wise has been, to say the least, challenging. Hearing issues have been a big problem. I have tinnitus, and so my ears are always doing this weird shrieky thing (Have you seen Dumb and Dumber? The most annoying sound in the world? Yea, that. (By the way, I have actually never seen Dumb and Dumber in its entirety. My husband, however, has seen it multiple times. This pretty much sums up our marriage.) And then there’s menopause, where your hormones attack you and make you feel crazy about it. At one point, about 8 months ago, I wondered if this was just it. If I was going to feel like crud forever. Guess what? I am indeed not going to feel like crud forever! I am crud-free about 75% of the time! It’s fabulous!

7. Steve. There, I said it again. I’m grateful for him, and how much I loved him, and that my eyes still tear up pretty much anytime I think about him. I am grateful I loved my big boi so much. He was my furry muse.

6. And so… Rey.

She’s trying very hard to come in between me and my laptop.

Rey has been a great comfort to me while I grieve for Sir Meows a Lot. She comes over and presses herself up against me, and then tries to crawl in my lap which is awkward because the girl can take up SPACE. I admire her confidence. I always imagine she’s just sort of softly muttering as she attempts the lap-sneak, all “Pardon me… say… I might sit… don’t mind me I’m just gonna.., yes, HERE we go… oopsie, ok, just gonna squeeze through while I… ” and voila! Really uncomfortable cuddles! Watch this vid to get a glimpse of it in action. It is a thing of beauty.

5. My husband.

His name is Brian and he is often mentioned here. I wrote pages and pages about him in both my books. He’s a never-ending fountain of somewhat annoying but well-loved material. When I did stand-up last summer, 99.8 % of my material was under the heading: WHY. HE KEEPS DOING THIS and it was a hit. The best part is he sat there during the set and laughed too. That’s because he is generous and loving and has a lot of patience, which come to find out is shockingly necessary when you’re married to me.

4. It seems rather like I should put my sons in here too. Right? Right.

My fourteen-year old is now as tall as I am, and he is learning to drive. While this is occuring (the driving not the height), and I have the misfortune of actually being in the car with him at the same time, I have learned to practice deep-breathing and what I like to call “Shrieky-whisper-prayer-driving.” Charlie is smart and focused and will probably run a large corporation one day because his absolute passion in life is telling other people what to do. So, go forth and boss people around, my son. I adore you.

My twelve-year old, Henry, smiles and winks at me about 67% of the time as he gets out of the car to go to school. He is also smart and driven and won’t ever run a large corporation because he doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. He dreams of making it into the Air Force and flying planes. Without hurting anyone’s feelings. He has the attention span of a a very nice squirrel toddler on crack, but I forgive him because also he really loves my cooking. I adore you.

3. Sayings like: It’s always darkest before the dawn.

What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger.

We’re gonna keep on, keep on, keep on, keep on dancing all through the night.
We’re gonna keep on, keep on, keep on doing it right (Ok, I stole that from the Brady Bunch).

If this year had been a motivational poster, I’m the kitten.

I mean… I guess there are worse things.

Who else had this poster ?? My sister had it on her wall 🙂

Here’s the thing. It is actually pretty dark before the dawn. But then, WHAMMMO. Dawn happens. Like every day.

And, I am strong. I was doing a plank earlier and Rey came and laid ON me (Again with the “lemme just… pardon me… I’m just going to sit right on here… “) so I’m basically ready for an Ironman.

And there has been some grooving in my life lately. A lot in fact. I can’t help it. I just can’t help it.

2. Yellow Converse.

Through the magic of Tiktok (something I thought I would never hear myself say, tbh) I have found funky, colorful, creative women who thrift weird art and like to play around with clothes. Sometimes they even pair (*gasp) plaids with stripes. The whole #wearwhatyoulove thing is a hashtag I can get behind. It started when I had to get more headshots for speaking things, and I decided to bring two pairs of shoes: pointy serious ones or my yellow converse. My photographer asked me, “Which ones make you feel more like you?” Yellow converse it is. It seemed, at the time, an audacious move. But then I asked myself, “What Would Brene Do?” and I wore them. And from there, it’s been a joyride into color and texture and just loving the creativity of it all.

1. Faith. Both in God and in humanity. Perhaps this won’t make sense to some of you. Some might feel like faith is a cliche. Or a speck of something, insignificant or annoying. Some might thing also that humanity has been circling the Great Toilet Bowl of Life for a while now (social media really has a handle on that and I really do hope you saw what I did there). I completely agree. As one who has found my faith shooketh all over the place in the past year, which also, not so very coincidentally, cracked open my Pollyanna-ish views of people in high places… it’s been a lot. It’s been hard. I have been frustrated and overwhelmed and at one point, I just told God I was mad at him and I wanted to break up. I’d been duped. I didn’t sign up for this. I wanted my flannel-graph Jesus back.

But, Jesus persisted. In his most human and godlike form (no flannel unless hipster Jesus?), he sat with me through it all. And then he walked with me, read with me, prayed with me. He didn’t give up on me. I’m not going to give up on him.

Besides. He helped me get sober and for that I owe him my life. Just my life. Nothing more.

So, there you go! My Top Ten Thankfuls. I would like to add one more as a bonus. It’s my blog and I can do what I want:

You. I am grateful for you, my dear reader. You are such a blessing to me.

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving and remember:

#eatdessertfirst

Waddle on, my sober friends. I am grateful for you. You know who you are 🙂

Jim’s story, songwriting, and 70’s tuxedos.

April 21, 2021 By danabowmancreative Leave a Comment

Ok, so on our latest Neighborgood episode, my cousin was the storyteller.

I do realize this kind of sounds like that thing where you only hire your family to be a part of your Big Thing… but listen. The Neighborgood is not a Big Thing. Not yet, anyhow. And Jim is cool.

Also, I’m really trying to get my dad on the show too. He’s cool too. It’s my podcast. I can do what I want.

Anyhow. Jim’s story is about how he got Covid.. and how he had Covid-guilt (it’s a thing). And how he is now. And if you want to hear more, go listen. This post is about this:

Well, not really, but I really cannot seem to avoid posting this picture of Jim in his prom tux in as many places as possible.

What this post is REALLY about, in spite of all the 70’s goodness, is songwriting.

Jim is a lot of things. He’s a pastor at a church. He’s an expert of the enneagram. He used to be a science teacher. He’s an artist. And he is a musician. And so is his son, Daniel.

There is lot of creativity going on with this family. Like… a LOT. And I am grateful for it.

My family is creative. My mom is a painter (she would say she “was” but in my book, once a painter, always a painter.) Also my dad? He has the ability to fix almost anything with stray baling wire. That’s creative, folks. My sister, Jenni? She paints. She decorates cakes. She also sends me snapchats on a regular basis of her pug, Arya, doing something cute to disco music. See? More creativity.

My sister Sherry? The best ideas ever for engaging little kids (Sensory tables! Cookie decorating contests! Endless patience!) And she quilts. I have one of her creations on my bed and am glad that she is the quilter in the family because: Warmth, but beautiful.

My brother? Don’t get me started. He used to do radio shows -recorded on a cassette player of the olden days that looks like this:

He basically did a one-man comedy show that was actually funny. Sometimes he would invite us as guests, Jenni and I. We would ruin it. His humor lit up a room.

And then there’s me. The youngest one in the bunch. I write things. And now, I podcast things. I have to, because if I don’t I feel like something is missing.

And lately, I have really come to appreciate this whole creativity thing. It seems more important now, as I get older. And 2020. And sadness.

Creativity saves us all.

It’s songwriting, for the soul.

And lest you think that’s cheesy, just remember this: The first thing that we know about God is that He created things. And no, I am not comparing myself to God. Not even.

I’m just saying: God created us. We create things. It’s the formula. Or we wither.

And… Here are some of Jim’s paintings. They are lovely:

And finally,

#nobodyframesspreadsheets: