A Funny, Some Encouragement, and Perspective

First, a little funny for my friends fighting in the query/submission trenches.

Next, a little encouragement.

Some perspective. 

No matter where you are or where you go, it's always possible to find a lucky star (or starfish, as the case may be). 

And no matter how hard things get, the sun will keep rising and setting, and so will you.

 

And now that I've fulfilled my job as cheerleader, get back to work. 

Carry on! 

My Life’s Greatest Accomplishment

My son is turning 18 tomorrow. In some ways, this really freaks me out, because, well, I am the mother of an adult. Yikes! But in other ways, it doesn’t. He’s a good kid, and while he isn’t really sure what he wants to do for the rest of his life, I know he’ll figure it out as he goes, the same way I did.

For all intents and purposes, I didn’t figure out I wanted to be a writer until I was 30. It’s not so unusual. Don’t get me wrong, at his age I did have goals, and I reached them in short order. I think he has similar goals, but I also look at him and see a hundred-thousand possibilities. It’s entirely possible he does too, which would make it really hard to pick one or two on which to focus.

The good news is that I am quite confident that once he sets his mind to doing something, he will. It’s all a matter of him deciding what that thing is.

Whatever he decides, I could never be more proud of the man he has grown into, and who he continues to evolve to be.

See, one of my earliest goals was to get married and have a family—the opportunity to raise children to become responsible, conscious, compassionate, and just all around good adults. I may not be a bestselling author (yet), in fact, I have a long way to go. BUT. In raising this boy-become-man, I have achieved the single-most important accomplishment of my life.

Nothing I ever do could possibly compare to this. Nor would I allow anything to try. The story of my family is the single greatest story I could EVER write. And no matter what happens in the world, that is one thing that will never change.

What is your greatest accomplishment in life?

Discover Your Gift

Last week, one of my friends, a stay-at-home mother, told me she’s envious because I’ve found the thing I love, my calling in life outside my family. Writing.

I have found it, and I’m grateful for it. But this comment, said in such sweet sincerity, gave me cause for reflection. I haven’t always known writing is my calling. Without casting blame on my parents, I can openly admit that I was raised believing that I would grow up, get married, and become a mother. As a child—and even throughout my teens—it never occurred to me that I would ever need more than that.

But when my youngest child left babyhood behind, I discovered I really did need something else in life. Something that belonged to me, that I could love and nurture and be proud of, but that wasn’t a living breathing being. My husband had his dream career, my children had school and friends. But when I really thought about it, I didn’t do anything that was just for me. I needed something special that could be mine.

So I set out to find that special thing. Luckily, I’ve always loved reading, and had recently rediscovered this love as I worked with my children. As I read, I began to wonder if I could write a story as captivating as those I held in my hands and couldn’t put down. I’m not going to go into all the boring details, so I’ll just say my search snowballed, and I discovered a deep love of the written word and set out to learn the craft. That discovery was one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever been given.

My point is not to tell you how I became a writer, but rather to share a secret with my readers: I believe everyone has a calling in life, and everyone has a special gift.

So how did I respond to my friend’s statement of envy? I told her this: You can do something special, something incredible. All you have to do is figure out what drives you, and then dive into it. You don’t have to wait until your youngest child is in school, or until your oldest graduates and goes off to college, or until your husband retires. You can make this discovery now, or whenever you most need it. And once you do, it will never leave you again.

So go ahead. Step out of your comfort zone. Apply yourself to something you’ve always wanted to do but never dared to try. Be brave. Discover your gift. You won’t be sorry.