Lucky Me

I have been dreaming of writing for some time now.  Hesitantly, fearfully but dreaming none the less.  I have not been sure just what shape my dream would take and I certainly didn't commit to following it in any way.  To commit would require action which would require decision.  Decision?  Did I just mention the "D" word? 

If you have been with me on this blogging journey for some time you will remember the post where I couldn't decide on my hair color.  Small decisions are paralyzing.  Every time I am almost out of flavored coffee creamer, I approach the dairy aisle with high anxiety.  Recently, a friend described this heavenly liquid as "Christmas in a cup".  How perfect!  Of course, bringing Christmas into the picture only made things worse.  Christmas means peace, joy and love in just the perfect combination.  It means high expectations which lead to disappointment and disillusionment.  Now bring that expectation to the dairy aisle and  I am breaking out in a sweat.  Now Dina, you may think, are you seriously stopped in your tracks by this tiny insignificant decision?  I am embarrassed (however slightly) to admit it.  You would think I was marrying the darn creamer!

Big decisions are easy.  Move to England.  Sure!  Now what color suitcases to buy to go to England is another story.  You get the picture.  So my dreaming of writing is stalled by trivial decisions such as computer vs. notebook.  Do I write in a notebook by hand or tap away on the keys of the computer.  Certainly a big enough choice to derail any dream!  Well, the computer has been at my disposal all this time and hasn't spurred any great feats of writing so I decide to try the notebook.  You guessed it.  There I am in Office Depot deciding which color notebook to MARRY.  Ridiculous but true.

Enter fate, muses or the Holy Spirit (which I prefer to call it).  Over and over again, I am guided and shown glimpses of a possible writing life.  Lucky me for each of those guides and glimpses.

• Lucky me that my brother-in-law has a desire to write and is armed with a fabulous book to lend me on the subject.  Not to mention that he actually is willing to answer his cell phone when he sees me calling and knows he may be attacked by a bout of inspiration which I ramble about incessantly.
• Lucky me that I have a mom who loves reading and introduced me to the love of story at an early age.  Lucky me that we still share this love and recommend books and chat about character and plot.
• Lucky me that I met my alter ego online a few weeks ago.  She is a blogging, knitting, Harry Potter-reading, British-Royalty loving mother of five.  Blows the mind, doesn't it?  She came to New Orleans and we had a three hour coffee chat that felt like five minutes.  She has worked as a writer/editor and is willing to help me along this path.
• Lucky me that I have many friends like you, dear readers, that openly encourage me in my writing.
• Last and most importantly, lucky me to have a husband who understands.  When I explain that I want to write his answer is, okay so write.  When I protest that this will require hours of doing nothing else he responds, okay so write.  When I worry that all this may come to nothing he responds, that's okay.  Just write.  He gets it.  Not only will he not stand in my way, he will wholeheartedly support me.

So, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.  I did decide on a notebook color.  It is the perfect shade of black that says, "Write damn it!".  On to steps two, three, four...

Dina