50 Years To Get Here - Day 28

 

    So today is my 50th birthday. Birthdays for me are interesting days because I tend to indulge in nostalgia. A piece of paper or a song can transport me to a different time or another place. Of course, that can be emotionally draining and sometimes looking back can be depressing. Another year and no much has changed. Looking back today, though, is a little different.

    I have to say, this year, despite all of its drawbacks and difficulties, has been a good one for me personally. Yes, there has been COVID, racial injustice and political unrest. I have not been left untouched by these things. But, in my day-to-day, good things have happened. More to the point, as far as this blog is concerned, writing has happened.

    When I re-started this blog last year, a global pandemic wasn't even on my radar. As I wrote every week, I was just trying to get back into writing. Then, when the pandemic hit, I just kind of stopped. Not unusual, I had started and stopped writing many times. This was just another time like so many others. But last November something changed. I challenged myself to write for at least 15 minutes, 5 days a week. There was nothing magical in those numbers, they were just a goal that I felt was achievable. I can't say that I was 100% successful. I wasn't. But, as I kept at it, the most amazing thing happened. The more writing I did, the more I had written.

    I know, this doesn't seem like an amazing magic trick. Persistence seems like the most minimal thing you can do. But when you just put one foot in front of the other for long enough, it pays to stop and look back to see how far you've come. For me, it IS amazing how far I've come, in such a short time.

    I first started publishing what I was writing every day. I chose this blog to do it. When I was done I had the making of a short book. (If you haven't read it yet, it starts here and is continued in each consecutive blog post.) Now, I am working with an editor and an illustrator in hopes of getting "The Nicholas Tales" published by this fall. I have wanted for years to be an author and have often investigated self-publishing. To think that it might actually happen and at this point in my life is breath-taking.

    Once "The Nicholas Tales" was done, I didn't stop writing, though. I continued with my 15 minutes, 5 days a week goal. Slowly a new tale began to emerge, something in the vein of my favorite children's books. I have no idea if this is going to be anything worthwhile, or something that just keeps me writing. I am not publishing it here, because I want to see where it goes first. I'd rather not burden you readers with anything subpar. I do read each newly minted chapter to my family in the evenings and they seem to enjoy it.

    My point is, things are going well on this front. 50 doesn't look so bad right now. It might be the year when I fulfill some dreams I set for myself nearly 30 years ago. If you have something you are dreaming about, go for it.  Don't wait to do the big thing, just take the small step. I doubt I'll ever be a multi-millions selling author on The New York Times bestseller list. But ya know what? I am a writer. And if everything goes well, by the end of this year, you might be able to buy both of my books. And that, will have been an accomplishment.

    No magic tricks. No secret sauces. Just sitting down and putting one piece on top of another until the whole thing was built. I'm doing it. Now you.