I travel whenever I can, have in-depth conversations with my kids about things that matter (and sometimes things that don't), and always make sure that I laugh, really laugh, at least once every day.

No. Never. Life is a journey, a process. Even when we die, we're not there yet. We're just traveling a different road.

Right now my greatest needs center around transportation. Our van's transmission died and so, for the last several weeks, we've managed with just one car. There are two problems with that:  because my husband goes to work every day and I work from home, I'm left without the car; and my car is a Subaru Impreza, not the right size for our family. This week my kids had spring break and we drove from Kentucky to Missouri to visit one of our sons. That's five people, plus luggage, in my little Subaru. Tomorrow we're heading back, and I am not looking forward to the drive.

We must buy a new van. We have our eyes on one, and hopefully we'll get it before our trip to Chicago next weekend.

P.S.--We bought the van yesterday evening--a 2005 Chrysler Town and Country. Hopefully it will serve our family well over the next five years or so.

The best rules for life are the ones learned early. Here's a few:

1.  Treat others the way you wish to be treated. (In my mind, the Golden Rule has never gone out of style.)

2.  Be patient. (Not always easy, but it works. It also saves me a great deal of anxiety.)

3.  Respect your elders. (I keep hearing about how other people, even teachers and parents, need to "earn" respect. Please! Someone who is older should automatically be respected, unless they've proven themselves unworthy. Most adults do nothing more with their lives than earn their living and raise their families. And they do deserve to be respected simply because they are older than me--though I'm getting up there myself!)

4.  Be kind to those who are younger. (A corollary to the above. I won't be one of those old ladies who shouts "get out of my yard!" I'll be the one handing out treats to the neighborhood kids--though even little old ladies are suspect these days!)

There are more, but these form a firm foundation in my life. And they've never failed me.

Sometimes I read my horoscope--usually when I'm perusing a newspaper and happen to come across it. It's usually wrong. I also identify somewhat with my sign--Leo, the Lion. But I don't really take it seriously. There are more important things in this world, and I have something more important to believe in. It's a nice diversion, but nothing more.

Nothing, really. There are some events coming up this spring and summer, but I'm ready for them. There are no impending marriages or births in the family. We have everything we could possibly want. My life is pretty good just the way it is.

My readers are waiting and, up until a few days ago, my editor was waiting, too. For the last six years I've worked on a five-part series, and the final book is nearly ready. The editor gave me quite a few challenges to work with, but those are done and we're set. My next book, Silence, is due to be published in June. Several readers have told me they can't wait to read the next installment and find out how I end the series. I'll admit, this was the hardest of all of the five books to write. And I will certainly miss my characters.

The term "beautiful little thing" makes me think of a baby or small child, but I haven't seen either of those yet this week. (It makes me yearn for the days when my kids were small.) I did see something amazing, though. Does that count?

Yesterday it was predicted we would have snow, which was strange enough for April in Kentucky. When I woke up, there was no snow on the ground, but throughout the day we had intermittent flurries. In between the flurries, the sun came out. My 13-year old said he saw the flurries falling while the sun was out. Meanwhile, everything is green down here, making the flurries look even more out of place. I enjoyed the serendipity of the day, with some of the strangest weather I have ever seen.

Read and write. Write and read. Take a trip once in a while. A road trip, of course. Actually, I quit my day job (teaching) so I could spend my time writing. The problem is that I still must sleep every day. If only I could stay up all night and write. . .

Here in our basement family room we had to arrange the furniture around the room design. One wall is irregular because it borders the basement stairs. Another is nearly totally inaccessible because the wood-burning stove takes up most of the space. We put our TV and TV stand in the corner, a futon on the opposite wall, along with a bookcase, and another bookcase and a desk on the remaining wall. It's not very pretty, but it's functional and fairly comfortable, which is what matters.

When the weather stays warm I'll move my laptop into my office, which I did design with a little more thought. But for now, the family room is warmer.

There's nothing major, but just a lot of little things. For over a month now I have worked intensely on my next novel, and I thought I was done but my editor just gave me a new assignment. Because of my book, I haven't gone outside for a walk when the sun is shining and the temperature is above 70. I haven't given the house the good cleaning it needs. Sometimes I haven't gone to bed early enough. The little things. But I'm nearly done, and then I'll still have time to enjoy sunny days and pay a little attention to the house.

I don't think that humanity, as a whole, is at a particular life stage. I subscribe to the cyclical view of history rather than the linear view.

Some civilizations, such as the Egyptians and Babylonia, were at their peak thousands of years ago. They were replaced by the Greeks and, later, the Romans. Muslim civilizations thrived in Al-Andalus and the Indian subcontinent while much of Europe languished in during the medieval period. Now western civilizations have reached their peak, and countries such as China are rising again.

The earth has a single age, but humanity is comprised of civilizations and generations. My husband and I are approaching our senior years just as our children are entering adulthood. This is how it is for humanity also.

My most basic talents are creativity and intuition. These affect my art, as a writer, as well as my daily life. They have helped me in raising my children and weaving through the various obstacles life offers, and I am grateful for them.

If I knew exactly where I was heading, what would be the fun in that? I'd rather just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Spend special times with my family. Travel to new experiences. Read a good book. Write a story that has me totally engrossed to the point that hours can pass without me realizing it.

Writing a novel. Actually, the first 20 pages or so can sometimes be tough, but once I get into the story it's hard for me to break away. Hours pass and I think it was only five minutes. Sometimes, even when my husband or kids call me, I don't hear them because I am so wrapped up in my novel. Even as I fall to sleep, or while doing odd little tasks away from my laptop, whole passages, and sometimes whole paragraphs, spring into my mind. The characters speak to me, not audibly but in a way that I know what words they would use and how they would react. Even revisions can carry me away, engrossing me once again in my story.