Saturday, September 1, 2018

Determination


September 2018 Blog
At today’s funeral for Senator John McCain, President Barack Obama quoted from one of McCain’s favorite books, Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom The Bell Tolls: “Today is only one day in all the days that will ever be. But what will happen in all the other days that ever come can depend on what you do today.”

Determination: A Haiku
by Ann Wilmer-Lasky
Do that thing today
That all of your tomorrows
Will depend upon.

It is so true. That which we do or not do today surely determines what our tomorrow (and maybe all of our tomorrows) will be like.
Hard to think of that, though, in the heat of the moment.  Life’s “dids” and “didn’ts” have consequences. A thing “procrastinated” is often a thing left undone until the damage is irreparable.
“Shoulda, woulda, coulda” can be the regrets of a lifetime. “I coulda been a contender” is the cry of  so many postponed winners, myself among them.
Not sure I will ever recover, even going on full-tilt from here. We shall certainly see.
I had a lot of help writing my blog this month. My wiener Chuck laid his head in my lap while I wrote. My wiener Bruce had his head on my shoulder. I still almost didn’t get done in time.
So happy that “Life’s Lemons and Lemonade: A Collection of Haiku, Volume Two: The Write Life” is out and doing well, that I’ve set myself an impossible publishing schedule for the rest of the year. I’m planning on releasing “Black Oak: Vengeance Bound” by the end of September.
Then I’ll go full out on “Life’s Lemons and Lemonade: Global Warning, Volume Three: A Collection of Haiku” for October. Following that with the sequel to “Sam Rock” sometime in November/December. Then re-releasing “The Castleweaver: The Madness Continues” as a 30th Anniversary edition.
That all should keep me busy and out of trouble – along with writing my daily Haiku and monthly Blogs.
That’s assuming life doesn’t intrude. Yeah, I know, not much chance of that happening. Life is there every day and must be dealt with. If it’s not one of us humans sick of out of sorts, it’s one of the puppies hurt of under the weather, or something vital has broken down and needs to be fixed or replaced.
It’s hard, really (even though I’m retired) to find the time or even the energy to do everything that needs to be done, so I do the best I can.
The quote from Ernest Hemingway and my Haiku should help. I’ll need to refer to it constantly-especially when I’m tired and out of sorts.
“Stay the course,” is another good one, as are many other platitudes.
OMG! I’ve written a platitude. My Haiku is a platitude! Never liked them before. Liking them more now. I guess I’m mellowing with age.
Learned something new this month. Had to take our Senior wiener Barnabas to the vet’s. He fell and we thought he hurt his back (Dachshunds are notorious for having bad backs). Turns out he may have fallen because he has something called Old Dog Vestibular Disease. It’s like vertigo. He can’t walk a straight line, frequently stumbles and rolls over and holds his head at an odd angle.

Scared us near to death. Turns out, he will recover on his own within one or two weeks, but we’ll have to make sure he eats and drinks water. He’s really not interested in either at this moment. But he is getting better. He can go up and down stairs and ramps, although he’s still wobbly. He will stop by the water dish in passing and drink, but won’t take any if you offer it to him. He’ll also lick cream cheese off a cracker, but won’t eat the cracker or his dog food or treats.
He’ll sit in my lap and lay his head on my chest. He looks at me like he has no clue what’s happening to him, and he wants me to make it go away. I wish I could. But I’m encouraged with each small step he takes on his way to recovery.
This is just one of the many things I have to worry about, that can take my mind off my writing.
So, you see, life intrudes in the Garret of AnnNoE, even though I’d love to just shut it out and write. In fact, after this, I need to sit down and pay bills – my absolute least favorite thing to do, but another intrusion that has to be taken care of.
Tomorrow, I will get back to my publishing schedule. I would do it tonight, but I am just too bone-tired,  I know, “Determination” says I should do it tonight, but I didn’t get much sleep last night. Went down to our local ER about midnight to rescue my neighbor, who is suffering from a bout of colitis, to make sure she got home all right. I didn’t get a lot of sleep.
Looks like we’re going to have a downpour any minute, so I guess I’ll take this inside. My dear husband will type it for me, and then I can edit it and post it (before midnight).
Until next month – keep the faith and keep writing (or at least reading). Hopefully, I’ll see you then with more updates form the garret.
Until that time, I welcome your reactions and responses to any of my blogs. I love to hear from my readers. Also, here are links to my Twitter and Facebook accounts, if you care to share your thoughts with me there:
I’m also including a link to my Amazon’s Author’s page. Feel free to visit me there also:

All of my books are available on Amazon.

This month’s featured novel is my contemporary paranormal The Cottage” https://www.amazon.com/Cottage-Ann-Wilmer-Lasky/dp/1514293870 I still have the cast iron toy fire truck that appears in the book.

This month’s featured poetry chapbook is still my new “Life’s Lemons and Lemonade: A Collection of Haiku, Volume Two: The Write Life” also available from Amazon. https://tinyurl.com/ycqtq3mt