About Velma Smeddling

I have been a paralegal in Chicago, a jewelry artist in Boston, and a schoolteacher in Africa. Currently, I masquerade as a suburban wife and mother, but in my heart there is a studio loft in NYC waiting for me. It is filled with found objects and metalworking equipment and color and light and beautiful, beautiful things. I throw eclectic parties there when I'm not traveling to feed my muse. Sometimes Anthony Bourdain calls up, begging me to meet him for dinner so he can catch up on my latest crazy escapades. If I'm busy soldering or painting, though, I tell him I can't make it. I don't want to interrupt the flow of creativity, you see, and I know he'll always call back, because I am intoxicating. In real life, I drive a mini-van. I have sensible hair but funky glasses. I am trying each day to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle. I find humor in almost every situation, often inappropriately. I am liberal in my politics and leery of any organized religion when it involves fundamentalism. I know a little bit about a lot of things, but tend to squander my intellect on paranormal romance novels when I should be reading something more substantial. I am married to my college sweetheart, who is a workaholic cancer specialist and still a sweetheart after 20+ years together. We have a daughter, Pepper (10), and a son, Peanut (7), both of whom have "special needs." Some of the issues we deal with as a family are anxiety, gifted education, severe food allergies, depression, and autism. As a practitioner of MIUAYGA (Making It Up As You Go Along) Parenting, I have no words of wisdom for readers of this blog. I don't know what I'm doing any more than you do, but so far I'm thrilled with the results I'm getting. And if you are curious about what exactly a "smeddling kiss" is, the story is here.