Strength Will Rise

"Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord".

Probably a scripture, but also a pretty good song. The post I wrote about Thanksgiving, the things that are hard to be thankful for, they're mostly about waiting. Waiting to have a baby, waiting to get out of Middlebury and into a bigger city... and waiting to be a 'real' author... all things happen in His time, if they are meant to be.

Let me tell you a little story.

A week or so ago, disgruntled with my pre-Thanksgiving weight (knowing that I'd be putting on a few more pounds that Thursday), I packed my gym bag in an effort to force myself to go to the gym after work on Tuesday. I have the best of intentions when I pack. I make sure that everything is in there: sports bra, bathing suit, workout clothes, towel, body wash, etc. so that when I arrive at the gym, there is no reason for me not to walk in, work out, shower, enjoy the Arizona room and maybe the hot tub, and feel good that I finally did something productive. After work, however, I feel like dragging my espresso-smelling body to the car, going home, and taking a nap. Inevitably, I have this argument with my brain while I drive - am I going to turn towards the gym, or home? This time, tail between my legs, I drove to the gym. I hadn't packed a book to read while I walked on the treadmill, so I was very close to talking myself out of the entire workout, but at the last second I decided I'd pick up a cheap-o magazine at the Martin's next door and get myself in the gym. If I got through the door, then I'd be sure to at least walk on the treadmill. And so it was.

As I entered the cooldown period on the treadmill, Kelly walked over. Kelly has been my 'gym girl' for as many years as I've been going there. She works at Fitness USA, has for 12 years, and we always chat when we're both there at the same time. But this time, she walked up to me with purpose. Kelly let me know, in no uncertain terms, that she didn't even want to be there today and had, in fact, almost left early, but she had been hoping and praying that I'd show up. (I have not been there for a couple of months, by the way.) She said, "You're involved in theatre, and I wondered if you knew anyone who would be willing to write my pastor's wife's life story into a play?" Bang. Theatre and writing. I said, "Yeah. Me."

From there, we had an hour-long conversation while I feigned my workout routine. It was very inspirational, and we learned a lot about each other. After all these years, neither of us had ever spoken about our beliefs. And yet, here she was praying that I'd show up, staying at work waiting... and something talked me into going to the gym at the last second, while the only thing I wanted to do was go home and take aforementioned nap.

And this, kids, is how I got my first real, paid writing job. I am working on a seven-month project, writing and editing both the play version and book version of the life of this lovely woman. That's all of the personal information I can accommodate you with, but suffice to say that while waiting might be the hardest part, it's well worth it in the end.

And, as my good friend Marla says, "Props up to J.C."

In other news, I'm reading the sixth Sookie Stackhouse novel, and The Ragamuffin Gospel concurrently. This Sookie novel is less Sucky. Well, it's pretty good, actually. Back on par with the ones before it, at the very least. Both Steve and Amberly say that the next one is really good, so I'm excited about that.

Our son is taking his S.A.T. as we speak. I'm nervous FOR him. He's an excellent student, but test-taking has never been his strong suit. He brought home the study materials and has been working on them by himself. I tried to force a real breakfast on him this morning (he hates eating breakfast, much as I do) but he refused. I told him he had to have SOMETHING, so he ate some Pop Tarts and milk which I guess is better than nothing. After all, he IS 18. I can't really force a breakfast sandwich down his throat. He's halfway through the test right now. I remember how nervous I was taking the S.A.T. and the A.C.T. back in the day. This one is graded on a much different scale than it was back then.

I finally received my copy of the Good Neighbor News, in which my Christmas story was published this month. I think you can read it if you click on the link and download the PDF. There was a typo -- they printed "Miracle OF 34th Street" instead of "ON". That was definitely not my typo. I think. Hehe. But it's pretty cool to see something I wrote in print. Also, I've been emailing back and forth with the editor of "Family Magazine of Michiana" and she said they are looking for great local writers, and asked what I'd be interested in writing. They have research/interview articles for which they pay, and personal exposure articles for which they don't. Right now I'm just trying to get my name out there as much as possible. This is one of those situations for which the adage "When it rains, it pours" actually becomes positive!

There's a sticky smudge on the McDonald's window next to me that's been driving me nuts for the last two hours. You'd think I'd stand up, get a napkin, and wipe it off. No. The fear lies within me that, the moment I do that, it'll just smear into a larger smudge and then I'll have to ask for Windex and paper towels and next thing you know I'm the official Window McCleaner.

Here's hoping that the last two hours of testing went well for the boy, and the next two hours go even better! :)

SJS