Which Way is Up????

I'm having one of those weeks that is leaving me feeling as if I'm drowning just a bit. I'm swamped with work, which is always a good thing I suppose. I do have to admit, I procrastinated on this project for no particular or good reason and now I'm having to play catch-up. The reality is, I am enjoying the project. It's a full blown book job from the transcription of a very old manuscript to editing the piece word by word to transferring it to the proper format for printing to creating the cover. It's a good book, well written, and I'm so very pleased to be a part of bringing it to "life" so that we may present it to the world.

Still, that doesn't make it any less overwhelming when I sit in front of my computer and realize I have two days to complete two weeks worth of work! On top of that...I'm in one of my no-sleep modes where I wake during the night with stories whirling through my head. Yesterday as I sat at a stop light on my way to pick part of my crew up from school a new story began to form in my head. "No!" I told it. I'm already working on two with a third in the notes phase. No use. An hour later as I sat with my children at McDonalds while my flat tire from Saturday got put back on my van, I had the main characters named and the opening scene fleshed out. I wrote in my head off and on all night! Ugh. When I have one of those nights...which is quite often...I am reminded of an old commercial where the children get the parents up early on the weekend. Perhaps it was a crying baby and the commercial says something about sleep being overrated. One of my sisters once told me after I had children that I would find myself operating best on 6 hours of sleep. I think that is just enough to function yet little enough to dull the senses so you just kind of float through life... I'd really just enjoy six good hours in a row!!!

Alas, the cats agree with my sister and the commercial. Of course they cat nap at my side as I work so what difference does it make to them? They do love it when I write in the wee hours of the night and they sneak onto the kitchen table to "help" by rearranging my papers into a nice bed. They keep me company, I suppose; championing me on as word by word I continue with my work knowing soon, very soon this book will be printed and shipped and into the hands of the author who, for the first time, will see his name on a cover. Inside he will find the words that he labored over and characters that he breathed life into. For those of us who write, it's a feeling without compare. It's also what keeps me going...the thought of that look upon his face when he opens the package containing his book. For that, I would gladly trade a little sleep and ignore my laundry...for a few days anyway.

Have I learned my lesson on procrastination? Probably not! Will I ever not take on more than one person should? No! Life is short and grace is given. We rise to the occasion and, just as we feel we truly are drowning, light shines and we know exactly which way is up.

For those of you who have pitched in and taken up the slack as I wade through....THANK YOU! Your support means more to me than you can imagine. The favor will be returned....after I finish this project :) Or maybe after the next one.....