Knowing
What’s Important
Fair
warning, this post is not about writing. It’s just about everyday life.
A
few weeks ago I muttered and whined to myself because I seemed to be hitting
every light red on a long street I used to get home. Fate seemed to be keeping
me trapped in the car when I was tired and my back ached to the point of
distraction. Hitting all the lights green, the trip would have taken twenty
minutes. I’d already been twenty minutes and I was only half way home, where I
could walk out a Charlie horse, take off my shoes and put up my feet until an
Aleve took off the pain’s edge.
Later
that night, I complained to Hubby about all the red lights and he casually
commented that, yeah, that’s happened to him a lot, too.
What
had bothered me so much rolled right off his back, making me admit what I knew
all along: I’d made more of the situation than I should have It was just a trip home that took a bit
longer than usual. Nothing bad
happened, I was simply inconvenienced. Wow.
Hubby
excuses these little bumps in my equilibrium because he knows that once in a
while, little things get to people, and I’m only human. (And all this time I
thought he thought I was a goddess.
Funny the things one learns…)
Anyway,
sometimes it’s a good thing to be reminded that everyday life is what it is. I’m
lucky that most of the time, life rates somewhere between good and wonderful. Once
in awhile, it sucks big time—hopefully not very often or for very long. For quite
a while, I’ve had back trouble. For me it’s sometimes hell (for Hubby, too,
putting up with me. Sorry, honey!). But it’s not the end of the world. My back
problem can be controlled for the most part. Lots of bad things happen that are
out of our control.
I’m
reminded of something that happened a long time ago. A colleague of Hubby’s
delivered a premature baby boy. He was born just under two pounds and had to
fight for every breath. All his parents cared about was life and living. They
hoped that someday their son could experience the inconvenience of being
stopped by a few red lights. That he would get to swat at mosquitoes and cry
over a stubbed toe. That years from the day he was born he’d be able to fall in
love, fall out of love, and fall in again as he grew into being a man.That he could live. And (spoiler alert in the best way) he did.
Look, intellectually I know what to
worry about and what to let go. But remembering that tiny baby, recalling his
daily effort just to stay here among us, sure puts everything in perspective in
a way that’s anything but intellectual.
The perspective is all heart. All love.
Maybe I was wrong. Maybe this post is about writing, after all.
Like me, my main character in Only a Good Man Will Do, is suddenly
faced with all kinds of road bumps in an otherwise smooth path. Will he swear
and complain like a wuss or suck it up? I’ll just share that one of his
“problems” becomes his greatest asset. Find out how Daniel Goodman shapes up
into becoming a very “good man” indeed!
Blurb for Only a Good Man Will Do, Book 1 in The Good Man series :
Seriously
ambitious man seeks woman to encourage his goals, support his (hopeful)
position as Headmaster of Westover Academy, and be purer than Caesar's wife.
Good luck with that!Daniel Goodman is a man on a mission. He aims to become headmaster of Westover Academy. For that he needs a particular, special woman to help him set high standards. Into his cut and dried life of moral and upright behavior, comes Eve Star, formerly one of Europe's foremost exotic dancers. Her life is anything but cut and dried, black and white. Daniel is drawn to her like a kid to chocolate. Nothing good can come of this attraction. Or can it? He is after all, a good man.
“Daniel, am I talking to myself, here?”
“Oh, no, I’m…” He chuckled an amused
admission. “Tell me what you said again.”
He could almost hear Eve smile. “I said,
you called at four-thirty on Saturday and Sunday, so I took a wild leap that
you would today, too.”
“Ah.”
Smiling to the empty room, he squirmed to get into a more comfortable position.
“A woman of logic.”
“Absolutely.
You don’t want to play me in chess. I think five or six moves ahead.”
“I’ll
remember that. There’s nothing worse than seeing a guy cry when he’s been
beaten at chess by a girl."
Buy
links for Only a Good Man Will Do:Amazon: https://amzn.to/2q7ovi4
B&N https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1129630612?ean=2940161770603
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/898008
Kobo:https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/only-a-good-man-will-do
You can find more about Dee at:
Website: https://nomadauthors.com
Blog: http://nomadauthors.com/blog
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DeeSKnight
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeeSKnight2018
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/265222.Dee_S_Knight
Newsletter (sample): https://preview.mailerlite.com/o2g1i0?fbclid=IwAR0COlyuPY-Hu30KTBdT092j_GZeuN5z4pc1LtsvHTyr6IbiSpsGqeIgT90
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B079BGZNDN
Beverley, thanks so much for the opportunity to guest post! It's a pleasure to be here with your readers.
ReplyDeleteI loved this post. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I have been a fan of Dee's writing for ages. I love her wonderfully developed stories and characters. I can't wait to read her next story.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your comment, Ric!
DeleteWhat a great post, Dee! I too let little things get to me... I obsess over things which are not important, like an an email that's not even important or urgent, or I think that someone doesn't like me when actually they probably think about me once a year! Writing can be so cathartic because we get to send our characters on tough journeys, and see them overcome all obstacles.
ReplyDeleteAlice, what is it about us that makes us worry that people are mad at us (or as you say, don't like us)? Is it ego that thinks everyone is always thinking about us or a lack of self-esteem? I wish I knew and got over it! ;) Thank you for your comment!
DeleteWhat a lovely interview, Dee! Clearly you are not alone! Don't we all obsess about some things? Writing, whether fiction or non-fiction, is such a creative beast and I fully believe like reading, it's also pure escapism from every day life - where we can zone out from some of our worries! That's why we enjoy it so much.
ReplyDeleteThan you, Sassy Brit! I think you have it right--reading separates us from our worries and the real world and lets us recoup.
DeleteThanks for commenting!
Great post Dee! Reminds us of what is really important in life. I know I am always in a hurry and many times I whine about the most inconsequential things, like the train being five minutes late. It's really petty and draining. Fortunately my whining doesn't last long. I'm mostly pretty appreciative of life. I loved Only A Good Man Will Do. I wish I had had teachers like Daniel when I was in school. I might have gone to class more. lol
ReplyDeleteLOL! I didn't have a Daniel as a teacher, either. But I taught at a boys' boarding school and some of the teachers there were as caring as he was. Some were even as cute!
DeleteThank you for your comment!
Great post Dee, it brings home what's important and what isn't. So easy to become irritated by the red lights and long queues in supermarkets. Its time then to be thankful we can drive a car and have fresh food at the supermarket.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for commenting! Being thankful for the small things is hard sometimes but the best! Being thankful for big things is easy to do. I appreciate your comment!
DeleteI appreciate all of your comments and thoughts. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteDee,
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your back pain. Lovely story about the baby.
I'm not finished yet with Only a Good Man Will Do, but it is another hit in my book as was Naval Maneuvers.
Callie
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