Skip to main content

Writing, Righting.....

In the history of my blog, I have never gone so long without a post. You're welcome.

In my defense, I have been otherwise occupied. I wrote a novel. Over three hundred pages and found a literary agent that liked it enough to request the entire manuscript. And while I've yet to hear back from her, except for a gentle note about almost being 'there', wherever 'there' is, I hold out hope. Even if she does not take me on as an author, it has been a wonderful experience to send my first novel out into the ether and have the first Literary Agent give it a thumbs up. I am aware that this is a rare occurrence.

While I have been working on the sequel, it has not gone as smoothly or as quickly as the first book. I don't feel as driven as I felt when I was writing the first novel. Ah well. Nothing to do about it.

As for Righting, I make attempts at righting myself. Bringing myself back to center, the path, holding to the iron rod, keeping the faith, a stiff upper lip and putting on my big girl panties each day to face what is tossed at me. Trust me--there have been mountains of things thrown down at me. Most days it's a wonder I'm still standing. Some days I don't.

The urge to hide, to flee and never return has come upon me on occasion. However, I do not flee. I stay. Perhaps that will be counted as brave enough when my time comes for judgement. I did not run away. I stayed. Is that enough?

I do not know.

Most of the time I instinctively know what to do about things. And by 'things' I mean dealing with my children, housework, driving, grocery shopping and work. But there are other things that I'm at a loss to deal with. The mental illness and proclivity for self-harm and suicide of my child. No, she's still alive, though she has tried three times to vacate her mortal body. There are other issues this child has, which are even more difficult for me to write about than cutting and suicide attempts. I'll let your imagination run with that one.

So, I am weary. I am tired. I am worn. And this causes me even more distress because it means I'm not enduring my trials well, with a bright smile on my face and a song in my heart while making homemade loaves of bread and feeding the poor.

Mostly I want to sleep, which I recognize as a bad sign.

I also recognized something the other day as I made a mushroom and onion omelet for my mentally ill child, with a lovely fruit salad cup. I placed her omelet on one of my pretty plates and put her fruit salad into a nice pretty matching cup on the plate.

I placed my omelet on a paper plate.

Seeing this, and not for the first time, I realized how poorly I treat myself. Sure, a paper plate isn't striking myself with a scourge or stabbing myself with a fork, but it is indicative of what I think of myself. I don't deserve the pretty plate with the matching cup. For whatever reason, this is how I've treated myself for years.

So is it any wonder that I am not valued by others, if I cannot value myself?

Comments

  1. I'm starting a new crusade: Pretty Plates for Pam!

    Very insightful...I hear Dr. Phil in my head saying, "We treat people how to treat us." Parents aren't immune from that, for sure. I'm glad you had an ah-ha moment - now, go take care of yourself. The homemade loaves of bread need to be for YOU (but only if they're wrapped prettily, or at least slathered in real butter) right now!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'll take the warm bread slathered with butter, please and thank-you!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am so impressed that you discovered this!! Some people never do understand that they are not treating themselves nice at all. I am so sorry about the trials you are dealing with, I can SOOO sympathize...sigh.
    I think sometimes our children are the trials we are called to deal with. I don't know...and they said we chose most of them... ;)
    Anyway - take care and try and take some time for yourself. You deserve it! And I'm sooo excited for your attempts with the book! I'm submitting to a publisher, don't know any agents that I'd want to submit to...sigh...

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think every mother, in one way or another, is able to sympathize with what other mothers are experiencing. It's good to know we don't walk alone down these paths. And thanks for your kind words of encouragement about my novel. I did hear from the literary agent and it was a lovely worded rejection. Still, it doesn't stop me from trying.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Go ahead....tell me the truth :)

Popular posts from this blog

Wheeeeeeee!

Today I was awakened to the not-so-delightful sounds of enormous dump trucks, (you know the ones that are a dump truck and they haul a trailer behind?) dumping truck load after truck load of dirt behind my house. Then the most incredibly noisey and squeaky (do they not grease the tracks on those things??) grader began shoving the dirt and rocks around. I had to fight the urge to throw a can of WD40 over the fence to the driver. It wasn't even eight in the morning. It wasn't even 7:30 yet. So I reluctantly arose from my bed and cleaned up the kitchen. After it was spotless, I went back upstairs to my freeze-zone (the only room in the house with AC) to do some online banking and make calls to check on medical bills, etc. As I was finishing up, in walks my husband! At first I had a moment of Oh-no-he's-lost-his-job terror. Then it passed after he smiled. Seems they ran out of work for the day. Odd, but then that's Boeing. So hubby was roped into going school cloth

She's Something...

Most of you know that I've got four children. My eldest is seventeen. Oh heavens...how did that happen? Wasn't I just seventeen the other day? I'm sure I was.... Well, she's amazing. I know the majority of mothers have very high compliments to pay their children--and rightly so. However, my baby girl is astounding by anyone's standards. She is going to high school and college at the same time. In high school she's taking mostly AP (Advanced Placement) classes, which also count for college credits. She gets up at five a.m. every morning, goes to Seminary, then goes to school, she works four hours daily as an office manager at Winderemere Real Estate. She speaks Spanish, plays piano, guitar and flute. She goes to the gym daily and it shows. This was her yesterday. This is a picture I just took of her, after getting her braces put on. Now, having said that she is gifted and talented, I should ammend this post to tell you the following. She just got home

Peace Begins with You

In my readings this week, I came across a video of Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin. He gave a talk entitled, "Peace Within." Who doesn't want peace? Who doesn't crave peace within their soul? In their lives? In their hearts and in their homes? How often do we have complete peace? I'd say my answer would have to be that there isn't enough peace in my life, heart or home. It's not like I live in a warzone--I do not. I'm blessed to live in a nation where I have freedoms granted to me by the founding fathers and I do not risk being struck down by bombs or shot by snipers when I venture forth from my home. My neighborhood is relatively safe, so much so that I take solo walks. The peace I speak of is something different. It's the peace that can be with me no matter my circumstances. I crave that peace. Elder Wirthlin says that peace begins in the hearts of righteous individuals. How does it begin? With a relationship with our creator. In ferven