Thankful For Small Blessings

I got back to work Wednesday morning. When I came in my to-do list had 4 things on it from the previous week. Not too bad. By the end of the day I'd completed 8 items with 7 left over. Thursday I completed 10 items and had 15 left over. Yes, I'm moving backwards this week. Watch me defy the laws of physics soon!

This morning while I was getting ready I started feeling pretty sorry for myself. I'm on this icky diet, I'm exhausted and I have 15 things to try to check off my list along with anything else that might just land on it. Poor me. So I pull out the new bottle of makeup I bought yesterday. The brand is called Boots and it's sold at Target. One of the reasons I picked it up was because they actually have testers in the store. No guessing at whether it matches or not. Cool. Usually you can only test makeup at boutique stores or department stores. I'm not big on shopping (except for books and craft supplies) so I hate going to the mall to do that.

Then I started thinking about the first job I had when I moved to Colorado. I worked at May D&F department store in the Women's Better Sportswear Department. Yes, I got to deal on a daily basis with just the type of women that description brings to mind. Most were okay. Some were just over the top. On Christmas Eve day they pulled me over to the perfume counter to help out because a lot of men wait to the last minute to shop then have no idea what to get so they go to two counters--perfume and jewelry. By the time my shift ended at 6:00 p.m., my head was splitting from having dozens of different perfumes sprayed at me and on me so they could be tested.

So today could be worse.

Time To Read

I've been down sick for a week now. I won't bore you with details--they aren't particularly pleasant--but once I quit sleeping most of the day I realized I had time to read. I've been slogging through Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Now don't misunderstand. It's a good book, a very good book. But it's long. Over 800 pages long. And the chapters are long. So when you pick it up, you've committed yourself to a bit of time. It's a book that's hard to put down once you start, but hard to pick up in the first place.

The book is a best-seller so I don't think the length was a huge turnoff. However, how many people who bought it have read it? Would it matter to you? I mean, she's got the money. So what if no one really got past the first hundred pages? Some authors would be okay with that.

While, yes, I do want to be able to make a buck from my writing, I also want my words to mean something to others. Maybe over-reaching in the long run, but what can I say? I'm a dreamer.

So what motivates you to keep going? Is it the bucks? You can be honest here. No judging. Or do you want to make an impression with your words? Or both?