40 Days & 40 Nights–Day 38

I can hardly believe it. I have two more days until my original goal of finishing the first draft. And the truth is, it might take a day or three more than that. I left eleven days for polishing and fine tuning, with a final due date (do or die date, that is) of October 1st to hand it in. So maybe I’ll use a day or two from those eleven to get to the end of the first draft. Or maybe I won’t need them. But either way, the end is in sight, and it always goes fast once I can see all the way there. So maybe it’ll end up being a book in 41 days, or 42 or even 43. But I’ll still consider it a success.

And I could have done it a little faster. But I took a long weekend last weekend, because my posts were starting to sound whiny and I was catching myself complaining a lot, and resenting having to put in so many hours. I was almost to the end of this challenging series of deadlines, but my mood was going sour. I needed a boost.

I got it when my guy and I undertook a mission for his mom, picking up a new puppy for her. I ended up bringing home one for myself too (full story and lots of pics at the group blog, www.storybroads.com). A baby English bulldog, 10 weeks old. She reminds me so much of my Wrinkles! Her face, her little quirks, her bossy bossy bossy attitude. She’s an entirely different kind of dog from the mastiffs. Her name is Niblet.

But I digress. We picked her up, along with her brother, Buster, for Lance’s mom, and then we headed up to her place in Black Lake, with all the dogs in tow. And we had a beautiful, restful, fun weekend. And it did me a world of good, as did the new pup.

I’m spending more time laughing outloud than I have since–well, since the last pup came home. This is the third in three years. I play, I laugh, I take pictures, I feed them, I walk them, and I clean up puddles. These activities are keeping me busy and keeping me sane. And I came back to the book and the deadline fresh, and eager and excited again. The days off were just what I needed. Time with my guy, and a new puppy to love, the perfect medicine. Being happy is the key to anything. To everything, really.

Okay, so my mind, mood and emotions are back in line. I worked my butt off today and I feel great about it, and the book is flying along.

So this will be the week I’ll finish the draft and begin the final polish. I’m going to succeed! YESSSSS!

Maggie