Letters

                                        

So I quit my toxic job in December to start a new chapter in my life. And in between the holidays my son and I took an impromptu trip to Washington, D.C., and we had an amazing time. Thomas is by far the best travel partner in the world because he is always game for anything--no matter how crazy. One of the things we did was visit a psychic in Georgetown. Her name was Madam Jessica and she invited us in for a 'chat.' Thomas sat on a couch behind her and I sat at her little table up against a wall. She was not able to see Tom's face, so she was unaware of his facial expressions as he silently reacted to some of the things she said to me. She told me many things that day but the standouts were these:
J: Someone in my life whose name begins with the letter J will have great success and that success will have a positive effect on me (My oldest son's name is Jordan and he's in film school in California--fingers crossed!).
D: Someone in my life whose name begins with the letter D will change my life profoundly (My first name is Danna so I'm hoping I'm going to change my own life).
M: Someone is going to come into my life whose name begins with the letter M and that person will change my life.
OK, so the letter M has been the tricky one. So far this year, four people have come into my life whose names begin with the letter M and each one has taught me a valuable lesson.
One M awakened me from an emotional coma and he gets props for reminding me how amazing romance can be (I'd kinda forgotten and had been living vicariously through books and movies for my romance)...sadly, he--for whatever reason--is unable to make me a priority in his life, so that romance isn't meant to be...but still...it was a proverbial wake-up call and I needed it. Now I know what I want.
Another M reminded me why you cannot go backward in life, romantically speaking. There's a reason why exes are exes and they need to stay that way (for the record I'm not talking about my ex-spouse whose name begins with a K--he's' still the ex and always will be, but still a good friend and co-parent to the offspring). So, anyway, nice try, M from the past, but it ain't ever gonna happen.
Another M was a blind date - nice guy but not the one for me. I think that was the psychic's (Fate's?) way of making sure I'm paying attention and trying to keep me on my toes.
And finally the M I'm hoping is the M that Madam Jessica was talking about, realizing, of course, that this is only May and there could be--potentially--many more M's this year...but the M I'm referring to came to me just after the first of the year. He came to me in a dream and is still with me. His name is Miguel Dos Santos and you don't know him yet, but I'm hoping you'll be meeting him soon. He is a figment of my imagination (and I didn't choose his name for the letter M...I swear! I wasn't even thinking of the psychic when I chose the name Miguel--it just happens to be my favorite Latin name for a boy). He is the gypsy in "The Gypsy Thief," the first book in my Young Adult trilogy. Miguel brought me back to life this year--he brought me out of a dark period and ignited my creativity and no matter what happens with his story, he's my hero.
My friend Jessica saw a bumpersticker recently that said, "Boys are Better in Books." Truer words were never spoken. I wish there was a real life Miguel (only 30 years older, considering Miguel is only 17 when the books begin) but until reality steps up to the plate, boys (and men) will reign supreme in fiction.