Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah
Today, I delivered Schuyler to Newark Airport, to the bus that would take her to camp. I'M FREE!!!!! I know she felt the same way. I'M FREE OF MOM!!!! Yes, we are taking a well needed break from the stresses of mother-daughterhood. For nine weeks, I am relieved of the responsibility of worrying about her whereabouts, who she is with, what she is doing, why she isn't answering her cellphone, what time she'll be coming home, etc. We cleaned her room after she left, filling two garbage bags with candy wrappers, old food, soda cans, etc. The amazing thing was that you couldn't see any of it just looking at the room. All the crap was masterfully hidden under the bed, behind the chair, inside the lampshade, beneath the computer, and in the other cracks and crevices of the bedroom. Schuyler has a talent for that. It's too bad you can't make a living at it. There seems to be some sort of alien fuzzy moldy stuff growing inside her lava lamp. How is that even possible? And don't get me started on the inside of her closet.
Much to her embarassment, I forced her to carry a small, insulated, glow-in-the-dark green lunch bag lined with ice packs, inside of which was 3 doses of her $1,000 per dose medication. I had markered all over it "Schuyler Quinn's meds. If found take to nurse's office immediately. Contents MUST be refrigerated." Why a thirteen-year-old would find it humiliating to carry such an item in front her fellow-campers I cannot say. The bag contained very important medicine for her sight-threatening eye condition. Before we left the apartment, I said to her, "whatever you do, don't lose that lunchbag." She rolled her eyes and accused me of treating her like a child. In the car, I repeated, "whatever you do, don't lose that lunchbag." She told me to stop nagging her, to cease treating her like she was stupid, all the usual teenage lines. After hugging her "goodbye," my departing words were, "do not, whatever you do, lose that lunchbag." Of course, as soon as I got home, there was an urgent message on my machine that the lunchbag had somehow been misplaced. She had no idea how that could possibly happen. She was really, really, really, really sorry about losing it. They were sending out a search party to scour the bus and hopefully find the missing meds. Oy, what a stressful day! And I haven't even mentioned the emergency 8:30 a.m. blow-dry appointment before leaving for Newark. Between the makeup, the outfit selection process, the beauty salon, you would have thought she was going to the prom and not summer camp. Oh, to be thirteen again. NOT. Actually, watching her operate, I am struck by how much harder it is to be thirteen in these days than it was when I was young. You gotta give these kids credit for navigating twenty-first century adolescence. I wouldn't want to do it. Anyway, the point is, what I'm trying to say is, my mini-me is gone and I miss her to death, the little lug.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
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posted by Karen Quinn : 9:48 PM
Ivy Debuts in London
Whew. Just returned from a whirlwind trip to London. It was SO exciting. Lots of book news to report. As I mentioned earlier, Ivy was selected as a Richard & Judy summer read. So, they printed tons of books and they all seem to be on display in the front of bookstores everywhere. It was tres cool to see so many of my books so prominently placed. I visited a number of stores and did signings. There was also a subway (tube) campaign where huge posters of the book jacket were hung everywhere. Simon and Schuster held a lovely champagne reception in their offices where Suzanne made a heartfelt speech on behalf of the book. Then, on Friday, I did a number of radio and print interviews which were fun. I'd never done radio before and now I understand how it's done. Usually, the guest isn't sitting right next to the host of the show as I'd previously thought. No, you're talking to each other from a studio miles away. Who knew? Anyway, Simon and Schuster has done an amazing job promoting Ivy and I've truly enjoyed working with everyone I've met there.
Schuyler joined me on the trip, as did my very good friend Kathleen and her daughter Lauren. We did all the tourist things - the London Eye (a huge carousal with great views), the theater, the wax museum, and of course the ever popular shopping. It was truly a blast, although everything was outrageously expensive. On the positive side, I now think New York is amazingly cheap. The most exciting part of the visit, however, happened at Mary Poppins (a wonderful musical playing on the West End). We stood in line waiting for tickets right behind Jude Law. Yes, let me repeat that, Jude Law. I'm happy to report that he is way cuter than any picture ever makes him out to be. He was with his little daughter who was also adorable. Anyway, I'm going to suggest that he play Philip in the movie of The Ivy Chronicles. Or, if George Clooney doesn't opt to play himself, we can always substitute Jude Law. Oh how I'd love to meet him. But first, I'd better lose 25 pounds. Details, details...
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
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posted by Karen Quinn : 1:54 PM
Too Much To Do Makes Karen a Very Tired Girl
It's Sunday night after a very busy weekend. Frankly, my idea of a great weekend is a weekend with nothing to do. I'm one of those people who can sleep until noon on Sunday, read the paper, hang, do nothing, do more of nothing, muse, go out to dinner and go to sleep. But not this weekend. It started with the big book expo on Friday. Enjoyed it tremendously and got lots of free books. The fact that you have to carry them yourself is the only limiting factor in the number you take. Also met some interesting authors and others in the industry. I may not be so enthusiastic on my 10th book fair, but the first one was fun. Saturday was filled with errands and then a CAA party Saturday evening. It was at the W Hotel on Union Square, right down the block from where I used to live. The ballroom where the party was held was absolutely gorgeous. Elegant, lots of marble, columns, and gilded mirrors. I met my Hollywood agents (thin, thin, thin) for the first time, as well as my international agents (fun, fun, fun). There were a smattering of movie stars and very famous writers - I recognized James Patterson from his commercials but was too shy to introduce myself. Bev (our babysitter) will be so jealous - she reads everything James Patterson (and his posse of co-writers) writes. This morning I was up at the crack of dawn - 9:30 a.m. Sam had a game this morning which I missed. Can you say "bad, bad mother?" But my friends were in town from Colorado and we went to the Chanel exhibit. Bev took Sam to the game. He pitched for the first time and I felt terrible that I missed that. But the Chanel exhibit was wonderful. Her dresses from the '30's looked like they could come out of the pages of today's Vogue. So elegant and feminine. Most everything was in my favorite color - black.
Schuyler had a dance recital tonight. She danced in three numbers and was amazingly good. I was impressed, videotaping everything. I'm proud of her. As I watched the show, I thought about the fact that (for me at least) this is what life is all about - getting to watch your children perform - making mistakes, soaring, trying their best, smiling with pride when they take their bows. What could be better than this? Then it was out to dinner at Angelo and Maxi's for our Sunday night family dinner. Sam complained the whole time. He blames his bad behavior on the fact that he's now a sullen teenager (and he isn't really - he's not turning 13 until October). In his view, teenage hormones give him license to whine and make everyone around him miserable. I don't know how much of this I can take. I'm home now and about to pack for my London trip. We're leaving late tomorrow afternoon. Now that book #2 has been given to my agent, I can enjoy the trip without feeling that I'm missing any writing. So this is coming at the perfect time. Have a great week!
Sunday, June 05, 2005
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posted by Karen Quinn : 11:07 PM
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