If I Were Westerosi...

This spring and summer I spent every free moment engrossed in the current five novels of the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin, aka The Game of Thrones books. I entered the world of the seven kingdoms with excitement and vigor – devouring the first two books in a few weeks but by book five I was exhausted, burned out. Tired of all the characters I still couldn’t keep track of, tired of all the cliffhangers with no resolution in sight. I needed a nap. Actually, more like book detox. I quickly read Khaled Hosseini’s And the Mountains Echoed so I could find myself devouring a book that is both beautiful and important. While I have to say that I didn’t enjoy And the Mountains Echoed as much as Hosseini’s other two books (A Thousand Splendid Suns being my favorite), it was still a beautiful story and did the trick of detoxing me from Westeros.

Now that I can look back on A Song of Ice and Fire series with more prospective and as I am going back to my daily suburban housewife/stay at home mom routines... I wonder, if I were a character in The Game of Thrones, what kind of Westerosi would I be (assuming, of course, that I would be a Westerosi and not from over the narrow sea somewhere)? Would I be highborn or lowborn? Would I live in King’s Landing or one of the seven kingdoms? Would I be a southerner, a northerner, or a widling mayhaps? Would I worship the new gods or the old? What is the equivalent of a Christian American middle class suburban mom?

I did find a Game of Thrones Name Generator:

My GoT name is Alerie Antaryon.
Take Ladies of Westeros today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Name Generator Generator.

Based on A Song of Ice and Fire Wiki, the character with that last name Antaryon is a Braavosi but I don’t see myself as living anywhere other than the seven kingdoms.

Here’s what I can say of myself based on my life decisions:
I like to be in a suburb that’s close to the city but feels far removed. I like summer. I like to be near water. I like the idea of being rebellious, but it’s too risky so instead I just stray slightly left or right of the norm. While I am certainly not upper class, I’ve lived a pretty comfortable life and have had minimal struggles with money (besides the usual middle class single income woes). I am fairly intelligent and educated, but certainly not maester-level.    

I  figure, I’d probably live somewhere in The Reach, somewhere outside of Highgarden. Maybe the daughter or wife of one of the lesser houses sworn to the Tyrell’s, like House Crane of Red Lake.
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I’ve spend WAY too much time of this today but it was fun. Would love to hear what you think – what kind of Game of Thrones character would you be? Where would you live?

Doctors, Vets, And More... Oh, My!

Less than 7 full days into school and I already have excuses for why I am not writing or getting anything else done (look how easy that was!):

We have already managed two doctors visits and squeezed in a visit to the vet as well...

My youngest had a very yucky snotty nose the entire time we were on vacation the week before school started. I finally brought him to the doctors last week to find that he has two "raging" ear infections. Poor guy probably had those infections brewing the whole time we were on vacation :( (although it didn't seem to bother him as he jumped from pool to pool).

What almost did thwart our vacation was a call from the dog kennel our very first night. Our 10 year old boxer had to be rushed to the emergency vet for what appeared to be symptoms of bloat. Bloat, if not treated quickly with emergency surgery, can be fatal to a dog of any age particularly a 10 year old boxer. And, after I talked to the vet whilst standing in the Wal-Mart parking lot with a cart full of supplies for the week, I thought we were going to lose him. But, luckily, by the time I arrived back at the hotel 2 hours later my husband had given the go-ahead for the surgery and my dog had survived. (2 hours later? Oh, did I skip the part where I was a blubbering idiot and locked my keys, purse, and cell phone in the car while I stood outside with melting groceries in a South Carolina Wal-Mart parking lot begging strangers if I could borrow their cell phones? Hmm.. I wonder how I could have left that part out?)

Our dog is wonderful, back to his old self. He was spoiled rotten by the vet techs while we were away and the only thing I had to do when we got back was bring him to get his staples removed.

Mommy/Doggie Selfie. Love this guy!

Doctor visit #2 came Monday for my middle child. He already managed to pick up a virus that I was worried might be strep (headache, sore throat, stomach ache, fever). Apparently, though, it's just a virus and he's back in school two days later (hopefully not spreading it around).

In between, of course, I have gotten the worst cold I have had in a long time. The last few cold and flu seasons I have managed to stay pretty healthy thanks to my persistent use of Airborne (I swear by it!) BUT apparently you have to actually remember to take it while your children are snotting all over you or it doesn't work. So, I've been coughing, sneezing, and not resting all night and puttering around all day in a fog (which please oh please should be lifting soon).

Oh, my! There you have it, less than 7 days into the school year and I have managed excuse #45 of why I am never going to be a published writer (or accomplish much of anything else!). 

On The Back-To-School Emotional Rollercoaster

Ahhh… Back-to-school time… the time of year when even the most even-tempered mother can feel like an undiagnosed manic depressive. As I prepare to send all three of my children on the school bus for the first time, I vacillate between wanting to run around the house and complete all items on my to-do list in a single child-free day to wanting to spend the day crying on the corner anxiously wringing my hands until the bus returns my baby-turned-kindergartner safely into my arms.  

For the last ten years I have some form of baby, toddler, or small child in my arms for the better part of the day. I have spent a large portion of my adult life pregnant, nursing, and changing diapers. And now that is over. I now hand my children over to be educated by strangers. Part of me wants to sing “I’m Free!!” in operatic falsetto while the other part of me wants to grab a hold of my uterus and beg “Just one more, give me just one more!”

How did the years slip by so fast? How did this summer pass by so fast? How is vacation already over?

I’ll survive back-to-school. And they will thrive. After the first few days, those child-free hours will go by oh-too-quickly. Before I know it, another summer will come and go and there will be another back-to-school to prepare for. I will have three children in school full day then. That time will come when I will be told that producing live children from my womb and keeping them alive is no longer a sufficient contribution to society. I will need to do something. Tick.

I will be putting my three biggest excuses on the bus… Tick.

Now is the time to make something of my writing or find anything else to do. Boom.

Yipes. Maybe I should go have that talk with my uterus (Just kidding, uterus. You've done good work but it is time for you to retire).