On a Good Day …

On a good day, I love to write.  Words unfurl like flags in a soft breeze.  Ideas and story scenes effortlessly bounce around and, before I know it, I’ve done something glorious and dazzlingly close to lovely.

But on those no good, rotten, terrible, horrible, gratingly wordless days, writing is about as much fun as folding twelve huge loads of laundry, each load filled with the teeny tiny clothing of toddlers.  Do you know how many pieces of clothing  can be crammed into just one load of toddler duds?  It’s a lot.  Trust me.  A lot.

But then there are the days when a story is completed and it’s the best and brightest shining star in your day.  Trust me on this too.

And so, picture this … at this very moment, I’m at my computer.  A cat is purring on my lap.  I have a Starbucks Venti non-fat, no-foam latte on the table and I’ve just finished an email to my editor, attaching a completed manuscript.

Let me say that again … A COMPLETED MANUSCRIPT!!!

There is perhaps no better satisfaction than pressing the send button, knowing that a year of your life is whirring through wherever it is that emails whir, especially when you also have a deep knowledge that what you’ve just done may be important to someone else.  That your words may touch another person in a positive way.  That perhaps one person will find comfort … a laugh … or even have a good cry over this thing you’ve written.

So here I am, a small bright light of pleasure threading through me, knowing that I’ve crafted a story meant specifically for millions upon millions of Alzheimer’s patients, their families and caregivers.  Sadly, there are few who are expected to be untouched one way or another over the coming years.

I’ll tell you more about my book and its progress through the maze of what can only be described as the “modern” publication progress.  I’ll soon let you read a sampling of the work.  I’ll keep you posted and always in my good thoughts as we work together toward a brighter future for those of us who are or have been touched by a very tragic and still incurable disease.

In the meantime, enjoy with me the wonder of literature and its healing properties.  On a good day, words are transformative.