Movement

The manuscript was finished, tripled checked, and sent off about a week and a half ago. That sounds so good to say out loud. When I finished it, and checked each page, I sat back and thought it might be a good idea to just wait for a few days and then recheck it again. Realized that I could easily let it slide for far more than a few days, so took a deep breath, made a separate copy of it and mailed it off. No more procrastination.

And promptly felt sick to my stomach. I was suddenly pumped and terrified all at the same time. Within a half hour, I received a confirmation letter that the manuscript had been received. It took a few days to settle down between bouts of highs (self-congratulations) and lows (abject terror about the whole thing).

When I did finally settle down and let myself know that I had done my best and it was now out of my hands, I began to work on my next project. The templates I hope to turn into a coloring book. I’m still spending time, each day, cleaning up all my files related to that project, sorting, and even making new ones. Of course, occasionally I find one that immediately starts suggesting color schemes, so some of that time I’ve been coloring. This is one of my templates after coloring:

And another that I’m thinking might make for a good cover.

When I’ve had enough of the templates, I find a book and just relax in my favorite chair. At the moment, I’m rereading Jean Aul’s Clan of The Cave Bear. I originally read it back when it was new (1980s ?) and this will be my third reading. I admire the depth of her research and the common sense way in which she deals with the science and archaeology involved. And it’s a good story to boot. It helped awaken my curiosity about my own Native American ancestry, especially it’s spiritual under-pinning.

It will be at least two or three months before I hear anything back on the manuscript. But, it certainly has awakened my interest in doing more of the same. Thirty plus years of poetry means I have a lot more to deal with. But, one thing at a time. I just wanted to let you know that I did finish and get it off and out there.

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