It's not for lack of trying

It's been five days since I've written anything on this blog. It's not for lack of trying. Yesterday I sat down at this computer no less than three times, and nothing. I'm being blocked, physically and probably mentally.

I have three piles on my desk, actually four, the parish directory, the booth sale schedule for my daughter's brownie troop, fundraising contacts for a calendar raffle our Youth Ministry is conducting in February, and behind me, tapping me on the shoulder -- my book. There is a deadline of end of March for a rewrite.

Today, with all the grace of God, the parish directory will be done. There is a meeting with the powers that be, and hopefully there will be a sign off. It's been fun, but it's been a lot of work. Yesterday I spent hours trying to format the cover. I still couldn't get what I want. So today I'll try one last time.

The booth schedule is interesting. This is the first year our troop has held booth sales. And I have to admit they are fun. The girls love to sell cookies, and at our last sale, I got to say hello to a lot of people that we know. Still, the schedule has holes. Hours of time not claimed by parent-daughter teams. There is time. It will come together.

Five years ago if you told me I would have the balls to walk up to someone and ask for a charitable donation for a Youth Ministry raffle, I would've told you, "Not me!" But it's true. At my advanced age, I realize the worst they will say is, NO. And I've heard that before and lived. So I've asked just about everyone I know -- that has something to offer, for whatever they could give. This weekend I had a meeting at the Boston Science Museum. While walking by the Information Booth I noticed a rather nicely dressed man, standing there, overseeing operations. On my way out, I gave him my pitch. He asked for a letter. (The letter I now carry in my purse.) He gave me a number, written on the back of his business card (Vice President of Visitor Services and Operations). I am to call today.

The book. I haven't been writing but I've been thinking. The Niblets reviewed it at our last meeting. I have hundreds if not thousands of wonderful suggestions. The first being -- delete the first 11 pages. Or the more polite and politically correct way to say it is -- The action starts around page 12. I have to agree. When I started a mystery reading session for my daughter's class, even I started in on page 12 -- to get to the action faster. So, I have a date with the delete key. The hardest task of all. To be so ruthless, I need long blocks of quiet.

So that and dust bunnies are my life.