Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Don't Beat Yourself Up

Sometimes Life Gets In The Way:
These past several days have been extremely busy for me.  I have several writing projects that went by the wayside.  Another agent search...edit my 5-page synopsis...a character sketch...2 webinars waiting to be watched and numerous blogs with good advice waiting to be read.  Add to that my own blog that's been sitting here waiting patiently for me to update.  But life gets in the way sometimes.  And you just have to roll with it.

But sometimes its an enjoyable intrusion.


I spent this past weekend sitting in a cattle barn at the fair grounds helping my 2 oldest daughters make money.  It was the yearly spring craft show for our area and, for the 1st time, my daughters had a booth.  And, I'm proud to say, they did very well. 









My oldest, Lisa, makes necklaces and dry skin scrubs for women and t-shirt bags and kool-aid lip gloss for little girls.  My second daughter, Michelle, does etchings in glass and makes beer mugs, candy dishes, vases, mirrors and wedding stemware.  We spent Friday night setting up and Saturday and Sunday selling.  Besides the "fair food" (I ate egg rolls and had lemon shakes...mmm), I love the atmosphere of these shows, and the time spent with my daughters (and future son-in-law) was priceless.



I left the craft show a little early Saturday afternoon, picked up 2 of my grandsons and we went to my son's home so the boys could fish and then we were treated to a cook-out.  The boys loved it, my dog, Maggie loved running the 2 acres and it was relaxing for me, besides the added thrill of visiting my youngest granddaughter.  My son showed off his chickens, new-born bunnies and the windmill he built himself to aerate his pond.  It was time well spent with my family.


I didn't once think about all the projects I had waiting at home.  Sometimes there are more important things to do than edit your synopsis, or work on that 1st chapter of your new novel, or write your new blog post.  Sometimes you need to set those things aside and just enjoy your family.  The writing will be there when you get back to it, there's no boss (except yourself) that's going to dock you for missing work, the webinar will still be waiting to watch and so will all those blogs that need to be read.

So don't beat yourself up because you feel you've gotten behind in what you wanted to accomplish.  Instead, relax, enjoy the moments you're in and breath deeply.  You can't get these times back again.  


Quotes of the Day: 
I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich.  ~ Dan Wilcox and Thad Mumford

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. ~ Jane Howard




4 comments:

raymond alexander kukkee said...

Karen, I really like your blog, it is easy-going, real life, and a pleasure to read. I'm following you! ":)

Karen said...

Thanks so much, Raymond. It's a pleasure to have you aboard! Hopefully I can keep you interested and coming back.

Wendy Paine Miller said...

This time of year can get cra-zy! Best of luck on your agent search.
~ Wendy

Karen said...

Thanks, Wendy, for stopping by. The agent search seems to be never-ending. But the right one is out there. It's just a matter of finding him/her...right?
And you are so right on the cra-zy part!