Upsetting The Apple Cart

(WANA Commons)

There are some times when I feel overwhelmed with all the things going on in my life.  Just handling the run of the mill everyday things I have to juggle in a 24 hour period...job, kiddies, phone calls, blog, manuscripts, emails, family, friends...you get the idea...

Then there are the unexpected events tossed into the mix because somewhere someone took a look at my busy life and decided I wasn't busy enough.  They decide to upset the apple cart and I add into the mix a water fight night at the school, insomnia, summer training camp, mid summer pitch contests, putting together things for an upcoming yard sale, and oh yeah...the missing mailbox I talked about last week.

I received a lot of nice comments and encouraging notes on that particular topic.  We were ALL hoping that would be the last anyone had to wonder about whether my rejection letters would get to me in a safe and timely manner or not.  

We were all wrong.

Last night...or more accurately...this morning at 4:30, my neighbors were having a party. A loud one.  One with lots of flowing alcohol and about 20 screeching kids of various ages who decided to take the party to the street in front of my house where they commenced to use my NEW mailbox for target practice.  I had wondered if they might have been the reason my last mailbox went on a permanent vacation. Now I think they simply didn't want me to suffer from all those rejection letters and tried to prevent me from getting any more.

How thoughtful of them.

I'm pretty sure their generous spirit was also in overdrive when they decided I needed to exercise more. They provided me that particular opportunity this morning when I had to pick up all the firework rockets, beer bottles, wine bottles, empty cigarette packets, cigarette butts, and various other objects filling three plastic bags full from my front yard.

But it was when I discovered they decided sometime while I slept last night to check and make sure the inside of my car still had everything it needed...and in their haste to return to the party, dropped one of their cigarette lighters by my passenger door (did I mention I don't smoke so I knew it wasn't mine?)...that I was convinced anything in my best interest was probably NOT topping their list of Good Samaritan deeds yet to be performed.

Funny thing about all of this? Nothing can generally be done until either my car decides to take a permanent vacation of its own or I become a casualty of some war I didn't even realize I was involved in. 

Bet you're wondering how I'm going to connect THIS to writing?  Well, here it is...

Sometimes you can be walking along, pushing that apple cart, minding your own business and then someone decides to come along and upset the natural order of things. Your doctor gives you some unwelcoming news, your least favorite relative comes for an extended visit, your "dream agent" sends you a rejection letter powerful enough to potentially crush your dream of becoming an author.  Your apple cart is upset and all those lovely apples are rolling beyond your reach.

What do you do?  Give up? Let them lie around until they rot?

No!

Take a moment to catch your breath if you need to and right your cart.  Then go after those apples.  Run after them if you have to!  Scoop them up and hold them close to you for they are YOUR dreams and only YOU know the outcome of YOUR life's story.  Channel all that fear and frustration into your next bit of writing where you pour your soul into your words. Ignore the fools surrounding you.  Spill those words onto paper or screen for them to connect with others until you can get your equilibrium back and then keep on trucking down that path to publication.

That's what I did...