A Little Encouragement…
This afternoon, my twenty-two year-old son helped me navigate some common setup procedures that had me scratching my head. A simple email setup and link to Squarespace. Not an impossible task. But he completed the task in half the time it would have taken me to decipher the steps. If you’re under forty, anything computer-related seems to be second nature. Over forty like me? Re-read the instructions and apply a bit of trial and error. And maybe a few curse words thrown in if you’re so inclined. Could I have figured it out without him? Probably. But I found encouragement in his offer to help put the final touches on launching my website. His actions said, '“You’re not alone, Mom. I’m a devoted fan.”
I’ve enjoyed writing since the fourth grade, and declared at eighteen that I would become a published author before turning the big 4-0, but for the last (ahem—cue the cough) few decades, I let life redirect me elsewhere. I wrote off and on through the years only as an outlet, a safe way to vent. I had almost given up my dream entirely after many stressful years of caring for my autistic son until one day, while I was in a rather woe is me mode complaining about my shelved dream, my husband said, almost offhandedly, “Write. Make it happen.” A seed. And the rest is history. I refuse to slow down or turn back now… not while I have even a little bit of encouragement at my back as I press against the headwinds.
I write while my youngest son paces the inside perimeter of our house mumbling, yelling, singing. I write during the hours it takes for him to fall asleep, and I write while he is sleeping. I write and write, even though I don’t have a quiet, peaceful place to write. I had a dream that has morphed into reality, because hell or high water, I’m making it happen… with a little encouragement. And it doesn’t have to be a big, mighty declaration from someone else. I’ve discovered hints of it almost anywhere now that I’m actively looking for it. A kind gesture or word. A deep breath from my doorway on a fresh, spring day. The music in a soft rain. A sunrise. The last parking spot. Find encouragement wherever you can. And don’t forget to share the hope and strength you gain with others. That’s the cherry on top of the sundae that makes the hard times worthwhile.