Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow by Deb Jenny

“Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, That I shall say good night till it be morrow.”
–William Shakespeare

It’s true, parting is such sweet sorrow. To have been a part of this magical group has been a high point of an exciting year in which I realized what seemed at times to be an unattainable dream: to have my novel published. That in and of itself was such a thrill—I couldn’t imagine anything making the experience that much sweeter. But being a part of the Debutante Ball did so. And then some. Not only did I befriend a wonderful group of talented authors, but I did so at a point in time in which it was enormously beneficial to be on the same “page” (excuse the pun) with them. Much as one would bond with a LaMaze group, other pre-school moms, or fellow POWs (hey, at least in Hogan’s Heroes they did!), I have bonded with these wonderful Debs. We’ve been there for each other through the many, many (did I say many?) trials and tribulations of publishing. Between the six of us (and the experiences, by extension, of our other friends) we’ve either experienced, or know someone else who has dealt with, pretty much all of the highs and lows of publishing, and we’ve learned from it. But beyond that, we became bonded in other ways: from late-night discussions about everything from relationships, children, family history, pets and vacations, to debates about who could tie a maraschino cherry stem with their tongue the fastest (and darn it, Danielle, we never did have that contest!) and other such party tricks.
(The Debs (minus Gail) speaking in San Francisco)
It was a nice way to wrap up the year when most of us (sorry Gail!) got to get together in San Francisco at the RWA National meeting in late July. And a few more of us got together in Manhattan a week later at the Backspace conference. We entertain grandiose plans of continuing our get-togethers, little “Deb reunions” of sorts, and hope to re-group in the blogosphere in a month or two, once we’ve all had a little R&R on our mental beaches…Which would be the sweet part of the parting. I think we’ll all enjoy a teensy break from the “yikes! I’m about to head to bed and just remembered my post has to be on the grog at dawn!” moments. Though we’ll miss the camaraderie, the continued support, and of course the friends/readers who kindly come to the Debutante Ball every day to read and/or comment.

It’s been an emotional week or two for me, having sent my oldest off to college a few days ago, and now bidding farewell to my “sisters of the Deb.” But I know change happens, and change is often for the good, so I won’t wallow in sadness over it. Rather I will reflect upon what a great run we had. And extend a huge thank-you to Kristy Kiernan, without whom the Debutante Ball would never have existed, our readers, and to the generous guest authors who graced us with their presence this year. I can’t wait to watch our 2009 Deb class move into gear here on the Ball. They’re a great group of women with some really phenomenal books, so get ready for an exciting year for them.

Over the past year I have regaled you with tales of my crazy parrot.

Graycie, having gotten off the cage, snuck into a cabinet, pulled out a package of chalk, and strewn it all over the floor
(the ever-charming Graycie: After climbing off the cage, she snuck into a cabinet, pulled out a package of chalk, and scattered it across the floor, chewing it along the way)
One of the (few) things she loves is for me to sing the refrain from the song So Long, Farewell, from the Sound of Music. I don’t know if she just likes the cadence of that song, but each time I sing it to her she gets her feathers all ruffled up, starts to bob her head, and sings along with me, especially to the do-doodle-do-do-do-do-do part. If only she could do the cute twirl and curtsey just like little Gretl! So now, picture me, belting out a rousing round of So Long, Farewell, nose-to beak (at a safe distance, of course), alongside my nutty bird:

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, goodnight. I hate to go and leave this pretty sight…
Do-doodle-do-do-do-do-do…Do-doodle-do-do-do-do.
Thank you all so much!

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p.s. You can find me on Thursdays blogging with a group of really fun writers, all moms of teens, in Erma Bombeck-esque fashion at: http://channeling-erma.blogspot.com/

14 Replies to “Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow by Deb Jenny”

  1. I’m rather picturing you announcing an intention to flit, to float, to fleetly flee and fly — oh, YIKES, I agreed to do a guest post for a friend, and it’s due at the crack of dawn! (I’m serious. Panic!) Y’all will be missed; thanks for letting me hang out along the wall.

  2. Well, in keeping with the Sound of Music theme, I guess this is your “curtain” call. (You do remember the green and cream outfits made from the curtains, yes?) Good luck to each of you! I so enjoyed meeting the debs and learning what a “grog” was right here at the Deb Ball.

    Kim

  3. LOL–love the curtain thing. I do remember that–also Carol Burnett and her curtain gown in that version of Gone with the Wind–remember that?
    thanks for being a regular, too! Maybe next year it’ll be YOU here 😉

  4. Jen, this post got me misty-eyed, and then I was laughing at Graycie’s antics. It has been a joy posting with you and the Debs this year…and I will look forward to our ‘all-together now’ reunion!

  5. Aww, that’s sweet. Now, every time I hear that song (or, the Leave it to Beaver theme song) I’ll think of you.

    It’s been an amazing year, and I have loved being a part of this group.

    Great post!

    XO,

    Lisa

  6. Weirdly, my daughter and I recently attended a Sound of Music singalong at our local vintage theater. It was the G version of Rocky Horror with little plastic flowers to flourish during Edelweiss, and a popper for when the Captain finally got a clue and kissed Maria. We were all in costume and had a truly quirky good time.

    I’ve loved watching your Debutante year Jenny, and consider this just the beginning because well, as we all know, Debutantes may graduate but they just keep on movin’ and shakin’ !

    XOXO Suzanne

  7. Jenny, you’ve been holding out on us–Graycie is BEAUTIFUL! (And a bit of a devil, as you have described.)

    Seriously, I’ll miss your weekly posts, Jenny, but have total certainty that we’ll be in touch off-ball and just maybe resurfacing elsewhere on the net in a new post-tiara and gloves incarnation.

  8. Let me strap on my curtain outfit and hit the stage with the rest of you. Now this song will always remind me of you. It has been a crazy year hasn’t it? Talk about the “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

  9. Ack! is it over already? Shiksa-twin, you will be very missed. I have so enjoyed getting to know you and all the Debs over the past year. But don’t worry, I’ll find other places to stalk you.

    And Danielle – don’t be fooled. Birds can be evil.

  10. Geeze, Kristy! I forgot to thank you (again!)!!! Thank you thank you thank you for this wonderful opportunity!
    Joanne, shiksa twin! We’d have never gotten to be such good friends w/o the Ball! We’ll have to frequent bksp more often!
    Suz, that SoM thing sounds awfully fun. I’ve heard of those but they haven’t found us out here in the hinterlands!!!
    Judy–definitely awesome getting to know you from the Ball–and look, now we’re blogmates!
    D and Eileen and Jess and Lisa, what can I say? We’d best have a reincarnation! And don’t let the looks fool you–that bird has a lotta devil in her.

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