Meet the McDonalds: March 2013

Sunday, March 31, 2013

A New Genre?

Meet the McDonalds

Soon to Be America’s Favorite Fictional Family

A new genre?

So Charlotte will be blogging about the McDonalds (with my help, of course).

Here they are:

Charlotte (known to everyone as Charlie): a former English major who hadn’t wanted to teach (or, as she herself would admit, do much else besides get married and have children). She works in the college library and still loves to read. She is a devout Episcopalian; this started in college as rebellion against her Unitarian parents, but she is, as she would say, “really into it.”

She’ll tell you about everyone else.

This will not be in real time. When one story ends another may begin years earlier or later, depending on my imagination.

But to begin:

February 10: Old English majors never die. They end up editing church newsletters and knowing all the answers to the literature questions on Jeopardy. I never burned to Write, but I thought it might be fun to keep a diary, a record of the family. Then I thought, “Why not a blog? That way I can share it. Maybe even make money!!!!” Of course I’ll be careful; no dirty secrets of the McDonalds. Actually, we don’t have any.

So I bought a copy of Blogging for Dummies, and here I am.

My name is Charlotte McDonald, but everyone calls me Charlie. I work in a college library. In my spare time, (such as it is) I read. Most of the time, I go to work or do Mom things.

I met my husband Ed in college when he had a beard. He love computers and baseball.

Our children are:

Elizabeth or Betsey (the second “e” is in honor of Betsey Trotwood, David Copperfield’s aunt), the oldest child. Betsey is ironically reserved, surveying the antics of her siblings (and her mother and her friends) sometimes with amusement and sometimes mortification.

Joshua, three years younger than Betsey is the least complicated of the children. You just need to feed him, let him run around, and laugh at his jokes.

Priscilla (Cilla) is two years younger than Josh, an intense but cuddly drama princess.

Duke the Labradoodle and Nigel the cat

A New Genre?

I got tired of submitting stories, waiting to hear from the publishers, and then being rejected. I’ve written several stories about the McDonalds, a typical small college town family. I wondered what they (particularly Charlotte, the mom) would have to say in a blog.So Charlotte will be blogging about the McDonalds (with my help, of course). Here they are:Charlotte (known to everyone as Charlie): a former English major who hadn’t wanted to teach (or, as she herself would admit, do much else besides get married and have children). She works in the college library and still loves to read. She is a devout Episcopalian; this started in college as rebellion against her Unitarian parents, but she is, as she would say, “really into it.”She’ll tell you about everyone else.

I met my husband Ed in college when he had a beard. He loves computers and baseball.Our children are:

Betsey (the second “e” is in honor of Betsey Trotwood, David Copperfield’s aunt), our oldest child. Betsey is ironically reserved, surveying the antics of her siblings (and her mother and her friends) sometimes with amusement and sometimes mortification.

Joshua, two years younger than Betsey, is the least complicated of the children. You just need to feed him, let him run around, and laugh at his jokes.

Priscilla (Cilla) is two years younger than Josh, an intense but cuddly drama princess.

And, of course, Duke the Labradoodle and Nigel the cat