Rejected!

I have officially experienced the rejection letter.  Today the mail presented a mysterious thick letter with my own address in the return space.  A self addressed stamped envelope that, for the life of me, I could not recognize or remember.  I was perplexed and opened it eagerly.  To my surprise my personalized envelope had found its way home nearly three years after being sent out!  Three years!

My college assignment submitted in February 2011 had been completely forgotten.  A reply was not expected.  It was just a school assignment meant to teach the process of finding someone to submit to, following their guidelines, and submitting something. I was not in love with what I had written.  I only did it for the assignment.

The rejection form had a check next to the spot labeled "does not meet our criteria".  That was it.  Simple and to the point, but I thought, "Of course it doesn't meet your criteria!  It's three years old now!

My college classes keep teaching me even though I haven't been to school in years.  The lessons keep coming, it's like the gift that never ends. The lesson for today?  When they say you may not hear back from them in a long while, they mean it.  When they say they are backed up, they mean it.  And, when they advise you keep working on something else so you can move on when they do finally get back to you, that's a good idea.

My heart was not broken because I have been working on other projects.  Seriously, I was not sad they didn't accept it.  I was too surprised at getting any response at all to be sad.

Hoping all your rejections are as pleasant as my first one, and hoping my next will be accepted! What was your first rejection like?

If you write, you have to read.

If you’re going to write you need to read, so I plan to give a book review on this blog once in a while.  This week I read a wonderful book I wanted to share with you.   

"Savor the Season" by Connie E. Sokol has great ideas for making the most of a holiday season.  Our family tried the first step just a few days ago and I am astounded with the results already!  The kids are more focused on the feelings of the season rather than what needs to be done and the gimme-grumps are going away.  I am so excited to see what the rest of the year will hold for us! 

Here’s the back cover blurb:

“Ready for the holidays? Would you like to be?

This year, organize and re-energize with Simplify & Savor the Season, a three-part holiday planner to help you savor the celebrations!  

First, get ready by brainstorming what’s needed for each of the Big Four—Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. Then detail the to-dos, including menu and gift planning, with quick tips on how to lose the unnecessary and focus on the essential. Keep all your notes in this book or its workbook companion, Simplify & Savor Take-along.

After organizing, sit back and enjoy the season with “5 Holiday Juicers”—tips that teach how to keep life joyful, not stressful. Then curl up and relax with “Savory Suggestions, Snippets, and Stories,” a collection of laugh-out-loud anecdotes including “How the Real Halloween Fright Happened the Next Day,” “Thankful for Warbling,” and “Let Go of the Cookie-Cutter Christmas.”

Make your holiday celebrations meaningful and memorable as you Simplify & Savor the Season!”

You should definitely read this book if you want to get more joy from your season.  And, there is a contest!

OUR THANK-YOU BLOGGERS CONTEST! Enter to win a free e-book from this blog AND enter to win an additional contest—our Back to Basics Holiday Gift Set. This festive collection includes three e-books, each with a specific tool to create a meaningful season: Simplify & Savor the Season to organize; 40 Days with the Savior to spiritually focus; and the Life Is Too Short collection to lighten up as needed. Visit www.conniesokol.com and either 1) email a way you’ve simplified the holidays, or 2) sign up for our weekly e-letter. Winners chosen weekly! 

 I know I really appreciate the permission Connie gives for me to simplify, and I hope you enjoy it, too!

Short and sweet, it is Nano after all.

 “He’s even been published in the paper!” 

No, I’m not talking about myself.  That would read either “I”, or “she”.  I do look forward to the day I can announce I am published, but for now this was part of a pep talk I got this morning.

My daughter is home schooled with the assistance of an online school that provides the curriculum and support while I am basically the teacher.  (Took me a while to figure out that when the online program says to wait for your teacher, she was waiting for me.  It was only two days!) We were discussing the possibilities of my daughter’s learning challenges being a disability or not. (Maybe she’s just slower like her mother.)

The supporting teacher said her son, “Is very smart, it just took him longer to catch on in the beginning.” She went on to brag about his accomplishments sighting that he has even been published in the paper! 

There’s quite a variety of ideas about what makes a writer. I have heard people comment that anyone can write, everyone has a story, and all that a writer does is sit around day dreaming all day.  It can be difficult to find the emotional support needed to get through some of these opinions. 

But today, I have found the other end of the telescope.  Some people actually do admire all the hard work that goes into forming concise framework for thoughts.  There are real people out there who believe that published writers are very smart!  That was the boost I needed to get me into Nanowrimo!

Finally the intimidation can go away!  What have you written today?

The Real Mystery of Meatloaf

Yesterday I decided I was going to accomplish just three things.  Start the blog, do 25 sit-ups, and make dinner.  Sounds painless enough but when I wrote the plan down, it morphed into a list of over thirty items.  You can guess how many things got checked off. 

This morning I was greeted with, “Thanks again for making that meatloaf, Mom.”  No good morning or hello.

I wondered, has he already mastered the technique of “guilt your opponent into submission” at the ripe old age of 8, or should I make dinner more often?  The peanut butter and jelly plan doesn’t seem to cut it anymore. 

Possibly because my usual response when asked “What’s for dinner?” is, “Oh, yeah!  About that… um, do we have any bread?” 

They respond, “No.  Do we have any clean spoons?” because they know that if I didn’t have time to see if we had bread, I probably didn’t have time to wash the dishes either.  Kids are pretty smart.

Then we try to find any left-over plastic spoons.  At least it’s not ice cream for dinner anymore.  Add a carrot stick or banana and we’re good right? 

How many years from now will the kids be sitting around the Christmas tree when someone says, “Hey, remember that one time Mom made dinner!?  It was meatloaf, right?”  Their eyes will gloss over as they search back through the depths of their memories.  Their tummies will grumble and they will lick their lips remembering.

But hey, I made the time for writing!  Maybe I will incorporate that into a book for them to cherish for the rest of their lives.  A meal is only enjoyed for a few moments.  Right?  I need to be a good example for them to know that they need to work for achieving their dreams, even if it causes a nightmare on the way.

Are you experiencing any nightmarish blessings?  Let me know about it!  Leave a comment or drop me an email.