A week from today I'll be in sunny Miami, awaiting our cruise ship to set out to sea. It's a vacation I've been looking forward to for awhile now. No snow, lots of sun and ten days to spend as I chose. I can't wait!
But I've several days of reality to deal with before I head for the airport. Tonight is "Author Night" at the Deer Park Barnes & Noble, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. I hope you venture out for this event, a great variety of authors, Morgan Mandel, Margot Justes and Me- DL Larson, will be traversing the snow/ice packed roads to see you.
Bring your money ~ you'll want to pick up several novels in order to be ready for the next snowstorm.
My other job, the nonwriting one, has demands on me before I leave as well. The painters are supposed to be at the library today, which meant I moved thousands of books in the last few days. My fingers tripping over the keys this morning remind me of how heavy they were. By Monday the paint will have dried enough to put things back to order. But we're rearranging, adding a Young Adult section to our library and we have new shelves to assemble; and I have a meeting Tuesday afternoon, after my preschool story hour, where our pre-teens and teens will make posters for our new art contest we are holding. Then Wednesday, we're hosting a mother-daughter Valentine's workshop. And that brings me to when I should be packed for take off. Eeek! And I have several chapters of my manuscript I want to edit before then too.
So we're back to dealing with deadlines again. Life is full of them. Some make us excited as we anticipate the big day, like my trip! Others make us groan at the added burden they cause. But I also like to look back and think of all the deadlines in my life as stepping stones. They've become a measuring stick for the progress I've made in the many areas of my life. Four years ago, I was hoping and praying to become a published author and today I am. Just a few years ago my local library had very few programs for our youth, today we offer something nearly every week. And I can't help remembering how I longed to have grandchildren and they are already six years old! I feel another Yikes coming on!
And all this pondering of past deadlines makes me wonder if the deadlines were once goals that time rearranged into commitments and promises? I like to think so. And I have a lot of goals yet to become reality. Maybe you do too. I hope to have many more books published, but if I don't commit to a writing schedule with deadlines of accomplishment, I might not reach my goals. So I take my deadlines seriously and realistically. The first step to succeeding is making a commitment to myself. I have to accept that my writing schedule is not up for debate, not a time to waste away in whatever meaningful manner I can dream up. I stick to it, mostly.
So with the first month of the new year already a memory, I hope you have set up a writing time and made some tangible goals to reach your writing potential. If you don't, no one will point fingers or say much of anything. But you you will have let another day go by without working on your dream. And that's a shame.
Good Luck~
Have a Wonderful Valentines!!
Til next time: (Feb. 28th)
DL Larson
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