Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, how many checklists we make, strategies we create, and positive thinking we cast, things go awry. There is just too much we don’t have control of. Like the weather and time and other people. As much as we think we should.
Today is the 1-year anniversary of the release of my debut novel, Return to Star Junction. My goal / plan / intention, was to release the second book on or before this date. A lot of life has happened in the last few months. All kinds of life stuff that pushed me, nudged me, whispered and shouted “not yet, but soon.” Okay. The book is close. So close I can see it and the third on the shelf next to the first. Instead of being disappointed and sitting with frustration, I now announce, “soon.” It’s with the editor. There will be a few more tweaks. But, soon.
My beloved and I recently moved. It is a 3-part move that is dependent upon many factors. The first part went smoothly. We found (lucked into) a temporary rental in one of our favorite places, filled up our cars with stuff and the cute dogs, and moved October 9th. Part 2, was planned around a return visit to the dentist to replace the temporary crown with a permanent one. We decided to rent a truck. Honestly, it seemed like a great idea. We could move most of “the stuff” and leave the furniture to keep the house staged. (Yes, we are selling that adorable little house – it turns out, ‘little’ isn’t the right size for us.)
Anyway, after making the reservations and planning all around it, we learned that a major winter storm was coming through on the day of the planned drive…over a steep mountain pass. We tried to rearrange the day, but were locked into the reservation. If we canceled, they would charge us and they didn’t have a truck to give us a day earlier. Oh, and they also said they didn’t know for sure that they would have a truck for us on the day of our reservation, but they wouldn’t cancel it for us. Ugh.
Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like you were waiting in limbo? A stretch of uncertainty that didn’t want to end? It was weird. I had grand plans to do lots of writing while we were waiting, but that didn’t seem to flow either. I thought I’d be working away on book three while book two is with the editor. Nope. Far too much going on … and nothing at all. So, we stuck to the plan despite the uncertainty. We got the truck (yeah). They were late, so the loading couldn’t start until drive day. We managed. Got out of town just before 1 pm and rerouted the drive to a less sketchy mountain pass. Turned the 5+ hour drive into a 9+ hour drive across two days. But we made it. “Home”.
When we did, we found out that the roads behind us closed. Had we left any later we might have been stranded. And all the doubts about how things weren’t “going right” and weren’t “flowing” washed away with the realization that we were exactly where we were meant to be. And, I received a training intensive in winter driving. As much as we would have loved our house to have sold by now, and to move all of the stuff so we wouldn’t have to go back, I’m confident that it will sell in the perfect timing. Now that we are safely home, I really need to get writing.
I hope that you are able to enjoy your home, too. Autumn has a way of helping us nestle in and prepare for winter.
Light the way,
Serra