Thanks for coming back, reader friends. This is the second installment in a three-interview series to introduce you to the leading ladies in my upcoming book, The Promised Plan.
Today, I’m chatting with Lacey Bloom. Last week, we met her lovely daughter Merci. If you missed that interview, you’ll find it here.
AUTHOR: As I asked your daughter, Ms. Bloom, I’ll ask you to describe yourself in five words.
LACEY: (Sighs) I don’t really have time for a lengthy interview. I’ve got to get to class in a few minutes.
AUTHOR: Of course. I’ll keep it short.
LACEY: Maybe you could start with a different question. All I’ve got for my descriptors are depressing words: lonely, divorced, heart-broken, overworked, and poor.
AUTHOR: Ouch. That isn’t a happy list at all. How about we focus on overworked?
LACEY: (Shrugs) It’s the story of my life. I work as a personal trainer and exercise instructor at a local gym. I’m attending community college to become a certified nutritionist. I work and go to school, work and do homework, work and try to sleep. But that’s been hard.
AUTHOR: Since the divorce?
LACEY: (Shakes her head) Since Mom died. (Gulps) It’s been six months but I can’t seem to get over it.
AUTHOR: Grieving is a long process. The more we love someone, the longer it takes to grieve their passing.
LACEY: Thanks for being understanding. Some people act like I should be over it already. (Stares off with unfocused eyes) Mom was the most important person in my life. She’s the only one who understood about everything.
AUTHOR: The divorce?
LACEY: Among other things.
AUTHOR: Are you hinting about the issues with your church? Your daughter mentioned those in her interview.
LACEY: (Purses lips into tight line) Among other things. I hate that my children had to suffer through all that. But if you’d lived with my ex-husband, you would understand why leaving him was the only way to preserve my sanity and protect my children from his belittling attitude.
AUTHOR: And what mother doesn’t want to protect their children?
LACEY: Exactly. My mom would have done anything to keep me from suffering a divorce. She tried to convince me to hold off on marrying Grant, but I was so in love with him. We got married six months after we started dating. (Shakes her head, lips turned down) Hindsight is 20/20.
AUTHOR: Too true. What can you tell me about a plan your mother had for a girls’ trip?
LACEY: (Opens mouth. Closes it. Swallows) Sorry, I gotta get to work. (Waves and rushes out)
Well, that was abrupt. As you can see, friends, Lacey’s got a lot to deal with. I didn’t even get to ask about the intervention her mom planned that involves a trip to Victoria, BC.
Come back next week when we talk to her sister and discover what she knows about that big plan. Or as the book calls it, The Promised Plan.
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