self portrait tuesday

it is terrifying to be a mother.

when you have a child, you open yourself up to a whole new world of anxiety. you worry over a newborn: is he eating enough? is he sleeping too much? is he breathing, for goodness sake.

and then you have a toddler and you worry about marbles and electrical outlets and separation anxiety. should we watch the news in front of him? where the heck did he find those scissors?!?

and the first day you leave him with a sitter. or a grandparent. or a teacher. those first hours when you obsess over how many things will go wrong, how many poisons he will swallow, how many times he will slam his fingers in the door, how many times he will slam someone else's fingers in the door...

the terrifying bike rides when he swerves too close to a car, the cannonballs that land too close to the pool deck, the stitches, the casts, the nightmares. these are all too soon followed by the learner's permit, the unchaperoned outings, the minutes that tick down incessantly to that first missed curfew.

and then, there are the werewolves...

at first, you hear the stories, snippets of gossip in the drop-off lane at the elementary school. a family pet dead. a child missing. they are horror stories, of course, but told in the comfort of morning light, the sun's rays blur the vivid detail with which the tales are spun. by the time you've finished your morning's errands, grabbed another cup of coffee or put in a few hours at work, you've all but forgotten the chill that raised the hairs on your neck.

but your child has heard the stories, too, in their elementary school epic-ness, twisted and embellished until even the teachers cry, "enough! let's get back to long division."

and now it is dark. and your child is restless. the night sounds that used to be familiar are now echoing throughout the house, un-named. unknown. you touch the locks again, secure your safety as you peer out into the inky calm. they are out there, somewhere. these predators. these werewolves...

it is terrifying to be a mother.

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i know i told you things were a bit topsy turvy right now. but i assure you, i have not gone completely mad (well, that's debatable...) (some of you readers can just hush now...)anyhoo, i'm sure you've noticed this is no ordinary spt.

i don't know much about werewolves, and neither does my 9 year old son. yet. (well, there was that one episode of Wizards of Waverly Place recently...)

but Christine Johnson knows a lot about them. and today is the day that her first novel, Claire de Lune, is available for purchase! you can check out the prologue and the first chapter right here.

i've been invited to participate in the first ever Non "Book Blog" Tour and i'm thrilled to be in the company of some other fantastic bloggers who are helping to get the good word out for Christine! click on over and see how werewolves are popping up all over the blogosphere today!! (thanks for the invite, katie!)

[and, i'd like to add, if you are visiting amuse-bouche for the first time, please read on to learn a little bit more about this blog. and, by all means, feel free to jump into spt along with the rest of us!!]