What I Did While I Waited

One of my debut buddies recently noticed my photo on the Milk Carton of Bloggers. I've "gone off my blog" as my mom calls it. That makes me laugh---it sounds like "she's gone off the beam" or "she's gone off her nut." I think it should be an expression we all use, so get started on that, would you? Start using it today.

Reminds me of my oldest friend D declaring that everyone should start using his expression "Put that on the menu!" Everything comes from somewhere and somebody had to say "Awesomesauce" and "Craptastic" for the first time. Why shouldn't you be able to announce an addition to the lexicon? It reminds me, though, of back in high school when D scheduled a Renaissance. Still makes me laugh. I just don't know if it's possible to make people participate.

I recently thought of a variation that could be really useful. It would be used when you're taking what you want from life or a situation and leaving the unwanted parts behind. "I'm ordering off the menu." My friend will be really ticked if this takes off. But we'll also laugh for years. Please leave a note in the comments when you use this line and tell me the circumstances.

Anyway, so, yeah...blogging. It's been a while. You might think I've been knitting (no), planting a butterfly garden (yes) or taking up hot yoga (yes). But the big question is what about writing? And yes, I'm working on a new project. Something different. Very different for me. Different can be exciting. And I'm eager to see what happens with it. This is where the waiting part comes in...

When I was waiting to hear back about 3RR, I helped the time pass by listing what I did each day of the wait. What does waiting look like? What does waiting feel like? If you're a writer, you know waiting is a big unavoidable piece of what we do. Waiting for news. Waiting for contracts. Waiting for checks. When I looked back at those pages much later, they struck me as found art in a way. There's a simple beauty to the ordinary tasks we do each day. And when you read them in context of the knowing the ending, knowing that a published book comes out of them ultimately, a book I'm proud of...it gives it all a feeling of mounting anticipation.

And if you're not a writer or in publishing, perhaps it would be interesting to get a sense of the time passing, like feeling the road beneath your wheels when you drive across the U.S. Waiting takes the shape of it's container, you see. If we could pick our container, I would choose I Dream of Jeannie's bottle. How I'd love to do my waiting on that plush round couch filled with velvety pink pillows and tassels. Unfortunately, it's the waiting that chooses the size and shape of the container.

So, you've probably guessed I'll be having reason to wait soon, to wait for news. And I'd like to chronicle it here this time. Leave a comment and tell me what you did while you waited...for news of your book, for a loved one in surgery, whatever. What did your waiting look like?

And remember to pick and choose and "order off the menu."