Curbing My Enthusiasm

I've been a travel and hostess bunny for almost ten days. I've enjoyed seeing my best friend in White Rock, British Columbia. The second day that I was there I learned I had a major project to complete. However, I couldn't get started on it while I was out of the country. 

I curbed my enthusiasm to dive right in. Instead I mulled, I wrote more words in my current WIP, and I didn't stress too much about it all. The time I spent "playing" was actually just what my brain needed to get ready.

When I returned from Canada, I had to get ready for a visit with more friends who were traveling to see my  family. On Friday I took time away from the task to meet with a writing friend who walked me through how to approach my next big task. I learned a lot, I was ready to roll, but I had to curb enthusiasm again. I've spent three wonderful days with my friends, read a lot, made tons of notes when inspired, and continued to mull. 

I've learned something about myself this week. 

I tend to be a "dive in and do it" kind of gal. This time I was forced by circumstances to sit at  the edge of the pool and dip my toes into the water. I had to swirl it quietly. I had to watch how other people were swimming and handling the deep end. I had to think about how I would go into the water. I had to consider the strokes I would use to cut through the deep end and reach the other side. I had to review my earlier efforts at learning how to swim. 

Oh, I wanted to dive in. The urge was still there. The desire to get the job done was pulling at me. But I'm so glad I had my visits with my friends. They helped me generate new ideas and thoughts about how to approach the next heat of my race. 

When I dive into the water this week, I'll be ready. I know I will be fast. I know I will work hard to get to the other side of the pool. And I know I have lots of people who believe I can do it well.

How do you wait when you want to go forward and can't get started?

On Holiday--White Rock, British Columbia--Friendship Revisited

I'm traveling. This time I returned to Canada to visit one of my dearest friends. I have known her since I was 11 years old. We met when I was in 4-H. We still know the song. We aren't 4-Hers anymore. We are still friends.

We've watched each others' children grow up and become adults (again, we are extremely young mothers). We've been on vacations together. She to our neck of the world--to Dollywood, to Knoxville, to Washington, D.C., to Williamsburg, VA, to Busch Gardens (where I rode my first coaster--it was her first ride as well), to mountains, to Georgia, to Alabama, and more. I've visited her in Canada with my daughter. We've been to Vancouver Island, ridden ferries, played on the beach, gone to the Aquarium, Stanley Park, White Rock, and more. We've shopped together, rearranged furniture together, cried together, shared secrets together, laughed together, made meals together, and played together.

We've got a lifetime of memories. All stored. All wonderful. And we continue to build on those memories. We plot and plan our next visit together. We hope to see each other more often than less. We dream of shrinking the continent. We can keep our lives intertwined because of the joys of modern travel and communication.

During this trip, I received the best news ever. It affirmed all my hard work as a writer. And she was here to share it with me. I was so glad. She was one of my first readers. She was the person to call me up and say, "You know I wasn't sure I'd like your story. What if it was bad? What would I say to you? But I liked it. You did it. You're a writer." Now she is here with me when I get letters from editors which say "Hey, we like your story, but it needs work. If you work on it and send it again, we will look at it again. You have potential. We want to see if you are up to the task of meeting our requirements." Wow. I am over the moon. But as important as that letter is to me. And as eager as I am to work on this task and fulfill the editor's requirements, I am ever mindful of the fact that my first reader was my best friend. And she liked my first story.

She saw the potential in my writing and encouraged it. She was there in the beginning. When I had no critique partners, when I wasn't a member of RWA, and when I had no clue about the publishing business I wasn't really alone.

I had a friend who believed in me.

And she still does.

Never, ever lose sight of who is there for you now, regardless of where you are in your journey as a writer. Be mindful of the people who believe in you no matter what. Hold them close. Hold them dear. Hold them in your heart. Hold them because you know they will never let go of you.