January 30, 2021 THE BEST IS YET TO COME

HUGE milestone yesterday. Not for me--but for my

 BETTER HALF. He retired--AFTER 39 YEARS. He

was  a prosecutor. That's how we met. Way back in the olden days--WHEN I WAS ALL THAT. Yup, I was 22 years old when I started working as a clerk at the courthouse. It was a State job--a big deal BACK IN THE DAY. I can still remember the first time we met.  Where did the time go?  It went by in the blink of an eye--that's for sure. So my husband was interviewed for the paper the other day--I guess he was a BIG WIG--and he said the most touching thing. The interviewer asked him what the highlight of his career was --and he ACTUALLY SAID--I met my wife working here. We've been married for 27 years and have 3 kids. What a thoughtful, kind thing to say right?  Who knew I was a highlight?  Like I said--HE'S MY MUCH BETTER HALF.  I wish some of it would rub off on me but I guess I can't ask for miracles.  While I'm happy for his well deserved retirement, I'll still be shlepping to work for a few more years.  HUM--maybe he'll learn to cook AND take over the grocery shopping??  Probably not, but a girl can dream. Ellie Mack, one of the characters in Lisa Jewell's thriller Then She Was Gone was a bit of a dreamer too before she disappeared in 2005. 

As the story unfolds, Ellie is a fifteen year old girl living in England with her family. She's got a great life, a doting mother and father and an older sister and brother. Everything is perfect.  One day she leaves her house to go to the library and disappears. Although the police look into the disappearance, they eventually classify Ellie as a runaway. The story then moves on to 2015. It's been 10 years since Ellie disappeared. Her parents, Laurel and Paul,  have since divorced and her grief stricken mother is still struggling to put her life back together. One day out of the blue, Laurel gets a call from the police. They have found bones in the woods and a back pack that belonged to Ellie. At least the family has closure and can finally bury her body but they  still don't know what happened to Ellie. While at a diner one afternoon,  Laurel meets Floyd Dunn. The two begin dating and Laurel meet his young daughter, Poppy, who bares a strong resemblance to her missing daughter. Don't want to say much more so you'll have to read the book to find out What happened to Ellie? This is a real page turner with many twists and turns. It actually reminded me in a way of The Lovely Bones. It's about 380 pages or a 4 mile run that you will have a hard time putting down.