Every Saturday, join me as I CELEBRATE This Week
with Ruth Ayres from Discover. Play. Build.
On Friday night I drove in afternoon rush hour traffic to a retirement party for a teacher I worked with my first year of teaching and in all the years since. I spent a couple of hours catching up with close friends I used to work with. There's nothing like trying something new or going somewhere different to make you appreciate familiar people or places or experiences.
When I think of good friends who know me, trust and value me, tears sting at my eyes. Growing and stretching and being pushed out of my comfort zone is powerful and I'm glad for it, but a real hug from a true friend is soul-filling.
Of course, they wanted to hear how my new job is going. The first year in a new job is tricky. It's fun and exciting but it's also difficult.
I learned how everything works.
I met new people.
I relied on others for help...a lot.
It's been kind of a mucky year.
Now that I've made it through on year, I'm looking forward to the next. I'm sure next year I'll find my stride.
I'll make the work more my own.
I'll collaborate with people.
I'll pave my own way, add my own style.
Wading through the muck is part of the journey.
In my writing journey, revising has been mucky lately too.
I hit a point this weekend when my revisions didn't seem like they were making my manuscript any better. I was standing in a puddle of words, turning in circles, tapping my compass that just couldn't find true north. My story was muddled. In my attempt to zone in on what my character is really, truly dealing with in the story, I was sinking into quicksand.
It felt hopeless. And then I read through some tweets from the Storymakers Conference (#storymakers16) and Ali Cross shared some tidbits from Jennifer Nielsen. (By the way, I absolutely adore Jennifer Nielsen and her False Prince series if you haven't read it!)
Life gets mucky sometimes.
"Do not give up.
You're closer than you think."
-Jennifer Nielsen
No matter what it is, maybe a new job or manuscript revisions, just keep going. Sludge through that muck, brave the murkiness, and just keep going.
Have you been in the muckiness of life before?
Got any ideas or advice to share? I would love to hear it!
Thanks for stopping by!
Our school was renovated and this was a mucky kind of year for me getting unpacked and settled while everything moved at a fast pace. I too am looking forward to a fresh start next fall. We feel like our heads are finally above water and we're eager to get going again. Muckiness is tricky, but eventually we churn our way out.
ReplyDeleteYeah, packing and unpacking feels mucky. You feel kind of in-between and not quite settled, right? It sounds like next year will be better! I like the word churn for describing getting through the muck. I kept thinking trudging but it has more of a negative connotation than churn...I'll try and remember churn!
DeleteGoing through the muck to find the right end-that sounds like good advice.
ReplyDeleteHopefully the muck leads somewhere...if anything it's about learning what the muck feels like and that eventually the sun comes out and the ground dries and someone holds out a hand to help you out of it, right?
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