I've watched Days of Our Lives for a large portion of my life, probably close to 20 years. Is it stupid? Probably. Could I live without watching it? Of course! But because we all have guilty pleasures, we all know that beyond these superficial, seemingly meaningless things lies something special for us, even if it makes no sense to anyone else.
Because it airs in the middle of the day, it often gets interrupted with breaking news, usually political. When this happens, I wait about five minutes and if it continues, I shut off the TV. Last year, it was interrupted for the sentencing of Larry Nassar and I almost turned it off, but I didn't. If you don't know who he is, Google him. He's not worth my time/blog space.
The reason I didn't turn it off is because of the presiding judge. She had an attitude and a charisma that I immediately envied. I knew at that minute, I wanted her in my life. I wanted to be her friend. She is Judge Rosemarie Aquilina and she is a BAD ASS!!!
I wasn't sure how I'd go about starting what I hoped would turn into a friendship and honestly, I didn't know how to even say her name yet. 😂 But that's the magic of the internet - you can find just about anything you want. So I looked her up and found her on Twitter. I learned that she wrote a book called Triple Cross Killer. I bought it and started reading it immediately. I hadn't read a book in about five years and it only took me a couple of weeks to get through.
During the course of reading it, I exchanged a few messages with her about the plot - I thought she was trying to make Santa bad! But he's not 😉
When I finished reading it, she asked me to write a book review. I had never done this and wasn't sure where to even start. I asked her multiple times if she was serious and she was. So I did it...after I read several websites on what it is, how to do it, what it needs, etc. After I wrapped my head around the fact I was even communicating with her. After I spent way too much time overthinking it. And after I had convinced myself I couldn't do it and she assured me I could do anything.
I sent it to her and she approved and commented I should write more book reviews, maybe even for a living. Since then I've written probably a dozen, and I started down a path I never expected myself to find myself on. Last week, I typed "THE END" on the first draft of my very first novel. I've always enjoyed writing and for a long time, dreamed of writing my own book. Now I've done it. It might be trash. It might not sell. But I did it. And I honestly could not have done it without her.
Her faith in me has never wavered. She's never told me I couldn't do something. She's always encouraged me and has given me advice about writing and about life. From the first message I sent her, she's been kind, funny, honest and humble. She is a true gem and is someone I am more than happy to call a friend and mentor.
About a month ago, I purchased a ticket to a book talk she was doing in Detroit. I reserved my Airbnb in Windsor, Ontario, Canada and that's where I'm sitting now. I chose Windsor because it was cheaper than anything I could find in Detroit and I wasn't going to drive the four hours home at night alone. I've never been to Canada and the house I'm staying in is only 15 mins away (in theory) from where the event took place. Oh and the next time I'm at the customs station, I want to flip the script and ask them the questions.
Anyways - I got to meet her!! I got to hear her talk about her passion for writing. I got to listen as she told about where her inspiration for her stories comes from. I got to learn a little about her writing process. I got to sit in a room with her. I got to ask her a question. I got to hug her. This magnificent bad ass woman who interrupted my soap opera last year. A woman who I quickly admired and who has now become a friend.
Maybe watching soap operas is stupid. Maybe sending a tweet or message to a complete stranger is stupid. Maybe driving four hours to meet someone and have them sign a book that you have three copies of is stupid. Maybe having three copies of the same book is stupid. It's not the only book I have three copies of, by the way. Maybe I'm stupid.
But I'm also happy. So I'm going to hang on to the stupid as long as it makes me happy.
