Phoenix, Arizona
Dear family and friends,
I hope that this letter, sent by email and my blog because printing and postage are still not in my budget, finds you well in every sense of the word. Prospering in your hopes and dreams. Growing in all your relationships with those you love. Learning and standing taller, always.
Twenty-ten has been a year like no other in my life. It began with me packing up my “stuff” and showing my home in Redlands, in preparation to sell it. After being laid off from my job in June 2009, I’d run out of savings, and only God’s miraculous providence through some incredible servants of His, got me through and kept me going until the house sold and escrow closed. The help came in several forms: checks in the mail, a legal settlement, skilled handyman work and moving (bathroom tile, house painting, dismantling my heavy stuff, moving boxes and heavy furniture onto and off the trucks, driving the U-Hauls, and so much more).
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
My Redlands house sold in less than 30 days, for the agreed-upon, appraised amount. That was rather a large miracle in this depressed economy. Then it was time to find a house to rent in Phoenix, and with lots of help from my brother and sister-in-law, I found a nice one in a nice neighborhood, which reeked of tobacco smoke (I’m SO allergic to it) for weeks, no matter what we did. Eventually, with Febreze neutralizer sprayed directly on walls and the carpet professionally cleaned twice, the toxic smell departed. You remember how I’d designed and planted my trees and flowers in Redlands, and I mourn their loss. This rental house has stickers and vicious weeds that defy my lawnmower! And no trees… not one.
I’ve continued to apply for jobs in communications (copywriting, publications and website editing, primarily), but have only been called to three job interviews all year. If the official jobless rate is 9.7%, they’re only counting the people currently receiving unemployment comp. The real rate is 19-25%. In August, my brother and his wife both lost their jobs, too. Brian has found lower-paying work and is hoping his networking will land him a better job soon.
So what am I to do? I had several small freelance editing jobs, but that’s not employment! Yet I keep very busy. In April, I began researching a historical novel on Mary Barrett Dyer, the Quaker minister who was executed for civil disobedience in 1660 Puritan Boston. Because I made an Excel spreadsheet on my major characters cross-referenced with political and natural history events, I’ve found some absolutely amazing details that historians haven’t connected—stuff that will make my book (even more) fascinating. As of the beginning of December, I’ve written more than 53,000 words, and have barely scratched the surface! When I say “historical novel,” I’m emphasizing history, with fiction to create bridges and conversations between actual events. Even the fiction will be culturally correct. My favorite authors (with whom I correspond on Facebook) have set a lofty standard. The book’s protagonist is my direct ancestor, 12 generations back. My religious experience, coupled with my writing skills, make me the perfect person to write her story from what I believe will be her mindset. The working title of the book is The Calends of June, as several major events occurred on June 1 during her life. I created a Facebook page and photo albums for her, which you’re most welcome to join.
It’s been great to reconnect with my Arizona friends here, but I really miss my California friends, too, and the dear ones who made themselves family. Facebook and email are no true substitute, although I’ve met some amazing people online who share interests in spiritual matters, history, genealogy, professional skills, and shared memories. I’ve even connected with relatives I’d never known before. One of them wrote: “Christy, I just love you!! That reminds me of the Disney movie Up when the dog says, ‘I just met you and I LOVE you!!’ LOL!” And it was a thrill to get a phone call from my cousins Phil and Christine Berkland as they passed the Mary Dyer statue at the Boston statehouse. They’re not descended from her, but they remembered me because of the Facebook page I set up for Mary.
I’ve edited all sorts of publications and video scripts over the years, and have had a byline in many of them. After I edited several of her manuscripts, Hyveth Williams asked me to write a preface for her Secrets of a Happy Heart a few years ago. But this year my name made several surprise appearances: I found my name on page 298 of I Used To Think God Was Perfect, But…, an autobiography of Herman Bauman, who called me “special” and a dear friend; and in Trudy J. Morgan-Cole’s book The Wise Men, in her dedication! (“To all my writer friends who are so supportive, especially Patty and Christy. I’m sorry I didn’t use your suggestions.”) When in Trudy’s first draft, the wise men were stalled, getting ready for their road trip to Bethlehem, we suggested (via Facebook) why they might have delayed—but strangely, our anachronisms didn’t make Trudy’s manuscript:
1. In winter cold, camels need a 20-minute warm-up.
2. Got a late start because the donkey races went into overtime.
3. Spent too much time at the Checker Camel Parts stall in the bazaar.
4. Once on the road, ain’t nuthin’ stoppin’ the wise men–not asking for directions, not taking hieroglyphs along the way, no time for a quick trip to the bushes…
5. Does the next oasis have a Pita Bell?
6. Gold, frankincense, myrrh, and Cheetos.
7. “Someone” lost the camel keys.
8. Couldn’t decide whether to take the Bactrian or the dromedary.
Earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three [gifts]; but the greatest of these is love.
Grace and peace,
Christy K Robinson
and pets Evie, Mali, and Smetana
