So I was Christmas shopping the other day. The mall wasn’t that crowded – I know how to pick my spots and times – but there were the requisite mothers dragging overtired kiddies who were either whining about a toy they just had to have or “puleeeze, Mom, one more trip to Santa’s lap!” Whatever the angst, the moms appeared ready to pull their hair out and down a handle of Jim Beam. One mom snapped. “Hey! What about being grateful for what you do have?”
Her delivery may have been less that stellar, but the message had its merits. I know my own life is so busy and I’m invariably flying off to this meeting or racing to take that phone call, and I forget to smell the roses and remember why I do what I do.
And then I get a special submission and meet an amazing writer…and that whole impact of my job hits me squarely between the eyes. What my authors do is so much bigger than what I do because they live the stories that I publish. Never in my life have I been more inspired and amazed by other people’s experiences. They allow me into their hearts to hone, twist, pinch, tuck, and tweak their stories so readers will be as inspired and amazed as I am.
It is a true honor to know my authors – and writers, in general – and I’m all the richer for it. Because our authors have such diverse stories, I do A LOT of research, and my classroom is their lives, their stories. In a word, they take my breath away.
I’m a better person for having known my authors, and that, my dear fellow scribes, is why I’m so grateful for what I do have.
Wow…I got all Christmas-y feel-good, didn’t I? It almost indicates I have a soul and a heart…GAH!
Am positive that that your authors are grateful for you!
I thought you gave those to the beagle…
The beagle is a lot like me…no heart…no soul
I meant as chew toys.