hero
Sunsets
I took this picture from my back porch last March. I’d been working away on the computer when my son slipped next to me and said, “Mama, we haven’t watched a sunset together in a long time!” My little heart melted, and I had to grab the camera to remember the moment.
In movies and literature, sunsets are rather iconic. Often, the hero rides off into it. It’s a time of change, transition (think Fiona in Shrek). It’s the ending of one phase and the start of another.
We all face countless sunsets in our lives: graduation from high school and college; marriage; children. And the same can be said for us as writers: completing that first novel; attending that first conference; receiving that first critique; facing that first rejection; attaining an agent; signing a book deal.
Some of these sunsets we pray for. We eagerly await those moments when we can finally close that chapter in our lives. Move forward. Sometimes we’re there in our minds long before reality catches up. I totally do this when I think about finding an agent.
But too often, we’re so anxious for the sunset, we forget to appreciate the beauty of the day. Having recently finished my 2nd book, I can tell you that while it felt good, it didn’t even rival how I felt after completing my first one. And it was an unpublishable mess. Yet, I don’t think I appreciated that joy at the time.
No matter what sunset you’re waiting on, what are you appreciating about your “day”?
Me? I’m appreciating that I have no tight deadlines. 😉