Hard Week

9/13/2012 bleak , compliments , love , stories , tired , wonderful 0 Comments

This has been a difficult week. I haven’t been getting enough sleep, which is my bad. But the thing is, how come you can be tired all day but when it’s close to bedtime you wake up?

What’s up with that?

I have a day job. I manage and do the book work for a mom and pop propane company. I live in a small farming community so we deal with a lot of farmers. Most of them are wonderful, and this is a great place to live. In fact, my office is in the country. When I look out my window, I can see a cornfield. It’s also awesome when the cropduster sprays the crops. The engine roars above us, and then the plane swoops down over the field really low. I usually run outside to watch because I’m a dork and love it. I get chills and laugh every time because it’s just so incredibly cool to see this small aircraft do the maneuvers it does. I keep meaning to bring my camera to work so I can film it and share it with you guys, but I think it’s too late now since the harvest season is upon us.

I don’t know much about farming so today a farmer called wanting propane for his grain dryer. Well, we filled it yesterday so I was a bit confused. I told him my driver already took care of it. He acknowledged it, but said he needs another fill. I’m sure he thought I was a complete airhead because I was totally perplexed. Anyway, after that awkward phone call, my boss (the owner) told me a grain dryer goes through propane rather quickly this time of year. She apologized to me for not telling me about it. She’s great, by the way. I’m lucky to work for her.

I know what happened today is really no big deal, but this entire week has been one thing after the other at my job. Not to mention, I’ve been trying to stay afloat with everything else in my life. So this week I’ve been feeling like this.
　
　


　
But then at the end of the day when I check my email before I do everything else like keep up on social media and revisions, I’m greeted with some wonderful comments like these from my editor who is going through my second book in my YA paranormal series:

Excellent chapter with new plot twists.

Another great chapter with lots of give and take drama.

Great job.

Another great chapter adding interest and advancing the plot.

My editor is not one to freely handout compliments unless they’re well deserved. So those comments made me really happy.

I also think about last Friday night when Kevin and I went out to eat. An older lady at a table next to ours looked at me and said, "I read your book and loved it. I read it straight through." And then as we were leaving a guy stopped me and asked, "Are you the author who wrote that book?" I smiled and nodded. He grinned, shook my hand and said, "Please to meet you."

So yeah, I have a lot on my plate trying to accomplish what I want out of this life. Sometimes I feel like bawling because I’m doing the best I can and it doesn’t seem like enough. But I keep at it. Even when my situation appears bleak. Even when I have hard weeks. Because I love to write stories, and when a stranger approaches me and gushes about my book, it’s so worth it, don’t you think?

And then I read this to give myself a little shove: