There's Never a Perfect Time

A friend of mine, who is a school teacher, once mentioned that when life settled down she would love to write a children's book. "Why wait?" I said. "There will never be a perfect time."

My answer was a bit simplistic, I know. My friend is very busy with the demands of work and family.   I understand what it's like trying to find a little time for oneself and how the muse doesn't always cooperate when that sliver of time opens up. Right now, I'm watching my daughters run through the sprinkler on the front lawn and I'm holding my breath, hoping it will occupy them long enough for me to jot down a few thoughts. This is the only quiet time I will have today. If I don't seize this brief opportunity this week's blog post will never happen.

This is life. We have so many responsibilities we forsake the things we really want to do. Yet how many of these responsibilities are truly necessary? Maybe fewer than we think. How much free time do we actually have? Maybe more than we realize. A little web surfing, a little TV. There is breathing room in our days, but we've found ways to fill it. Ways that might feel like we're doing something substantive but leave us feeling drained, dissatisfied. Why do we compulsively check our email all day long when we say we'd like to spend more time reading? Why do we rob ourselves of even things that bring us pleasure?

Time isn't really the the obstacle--it's fear. It's easy to postpone our dreams by blaming our schedules. It takes the pressure off. Deciding to finally take that leap into the unknown is terrifying. We are afraid to fail. Committing to action is to court disaster. So we hide behind our to-do list. It's safer that way. The decision seems to be made for us.

Time is our enemy in that we have only a finite amount of it. How much? No one knows. When we are young, we foolishly believe time is a luxury. This is not to say we should spend every minute being productive. We should spend as much of our time as we can doing what fulfills us--not on empty habits or on pleasing those who do not occupy a place in our immediate circle of family and friends. If we don't act now, then when? There will always be a problem or two plaguing us, an inbox that never empties, another holiday around the corner. There will always be an excuse we can point to  if we allow it. Years can slip away before we notice.

The perfect time is now. But it doesn't have to happen all at once.

I suggested to my friend that she buy a beautiful notebook and a pen just to jot down a some ideas. Spend a few minutes every day or week on it. Let go of outcomes, expectations. Make it fun. Just start.

Now.

New Project

My family and I just returned from a great mid-winter trip to Florida. Although it was pretty chilly for much of the trip, the sun felt great.

Just before we left, my two young daughters and I were sick with bad colds. After dinner one evening, when they started feeling better but I was still in rough shape, they begged me to play with them. I didn't have the energy for play or for even reading to them, so we cuddled on the couch, I closed my eyes, and told them a story.

The story that came out surprised me. I had no idea where it was going and was too sick to care, so I just let it flow. After I finally put the girls to bed that night, I sat down at my computer and wrote down the story. Even after re-reading the story several days later, I still really liked it. And even though I know every mother on the planet thinks they can write a children's book, I'm still going to see if I can get it published. What have I got to lose?

Right now, I'm re-working the story...a lot. It's very far from perfect and it has actually changed a lot from its original form. Then I'm going to see if I can get an agent. According to the children's book authors I've spoken with, usually you have to try to sell the book to a publisher first before a children's book agent will be interested, which is totally backwards from the adult market. Even though this is the conventional method, my plan is to contact a few agents I know first, and if that fails, I'll go the regular route.

I'll keep you posted.