Author L.A. Goodman

Hello, firelights!

I had the best weekend. Batman and I took a brief trip down south to see the solar eclipse. It just so happened that my sister lives in the line of totality for the big event, and I got to spend a lot of time with her and her sweet family. We had such fun!

First, I got to watch not one, but TWO, of my nephews’ baseball games. He’s a rock star on the diamond and I so enjoyed watching him play, yelling, and cheering him on. He seems to have such a great, supportive team with encouraging coaches. Team Tripp!

Next, I did something that was on my bucket list. We went to my first-ever Renaissance fair! Of course, I had to dress up for the vibes. I was a WoW-esque rogue, while my sister was a simple peasant lass. We developed a story where she was sick of the boring life, so I brought her along on my quests and constantly had to save her.

At the faire, we saw sword fighting, jousting, a bird of prey exhibit where the birds were huge and flew right over our heads! We drank mead and cider, ate turkey legs and brats. My favorite were the musicians. We saw two bagpipe bands, and both were absolutely fantastic! Bucket list thing: Done!

We played lots of table-top games because gamers gonna game.

It was bluebonnet season, so the area down there was covered in them! So beautiful! Of course, I had to snap some pics.

The day of the eclipse was overcast in the morning. While it would have been fine to miss it—because let’s face it, my sister and her family are the main attraction in that neck of the woods—we remained hopeful as the clouds became intermittent.

We drove to a spot where we’d see the eclipse in totality. Those intermittent clouds kept giving us glimpses of the moon covering the sun. Then, just as we knew totality was coming, the clouds broke enough for us to see it! The lot we were in had several groups of people doing exactly what we were there for. Everyone cheered at totality. One group blasted Total Eclipse of the Heart on the radio. What a cool experience!

Symbolically, many see a solar eclipse as a time to shed old energies and begin anew. It’s a time of introspection, of seeing yourself as you are, and then changing what needs changing. It’s a good time to develop a new habit, viewpoint, or anything that might help us become a better version of ourselves. As someone who is constantly trying to do better than I did yesterday, I appreciate this time of self-awareness.

Time with those who love us as we are; that’s just good for the heart and soul. Miss you already, sister. Thanks for being you.

Love and light!

L.A. Goodman

PS: If you’ve read and enjoyed Old Souls, The Nothing Place, Lineage, or No More Lies, please consider leaving a review for each of them on Amazon and/or Goodreads. Each review helps. Thank you!