I know I’m supposed to post on Mondays but now it is Tuesday, and it’s okay I’m posting today.  I forgive myself for not being a robot. I am human, and that’s okay. Besides, it takes me one to two hours to craft a blog so that it’s meaningful to you and me. Content is king, and if I can’t produce king, then it’s a waste of both of our time.

So there was no way I had time to reach out to you yesterday because I had to prioritize to get a project completed. I had a deadline. Do you feel like that at all when you have to focus on one thing at the exclusion of everything else? You can’t multitask because the project is stretching you to the outer cores of your being. You’ve been through this before, and you know the final results will be worth it. But meanwhile, if you don’t focus, you won’t come close to the deadline and you won’t get the rush that comes from being deeply satisfied in your heart.

So in one of my posts, I told you I was going to write Mom’s (Mother-In-Law from a previous marriage) a book for her 85th birthday which is March 16.  I got 100% email participation from everyone who received the email. That was fun talking to these people I hadn’t talked to in years or emailing them and having a conversation that way. That was not complete until last Wednesday. So I started structuring the concept of the book but had to stop on Thursday because I had to study to take the state insurance exam (essential to have different income streams of revenue because I have to pay bills too and I want my book costs kept down to reasonable prices). The information was dry and studying the modules themselves took me over 35 hours of focus to learn this new material. My goal was to pass the first time because I have better things to do then to take the test a second time so I did pass, and that was great news. I got my fingerprints taken, and maybe next week I’ll be ready to see people.  I got back to Mom’s book Friday night. So I worked that night, Saturday, Saturday night, Sunday, Sunday night, Monday, Monday night and finally submitted it for review at 5:30 AM this morning. It can take up to 24 hours to review and if all goes well I can order the books.

This book was my priority. My energy had to be entirely there for Mom’s book. No distractions – not even the sun’s coming out in Seattle during these three days. So the book was organized, the energy was creative and beautiful, and all the details were scrupulously combed ad nauseam. I’d text Linda, my sister-in-law for moral support during these final moments of reading the book over and over to catch these little mistakes that are glaringly big in printed form. How can you get laughter in texts but we do?  We thought maybe we should make a cocktail named Beringe since that’s the name “pages” thought was Bernice’s name. It’s these details that drive me crazy, and I need any bit of humor to get me over these humps. I know you’ve been there, meeting deadlines, making appointments, stuck in traffic. In these times of our lives, we need humor. I found Beringe everywhere, so I had to pick through the words and correct. I don’t need to bore you with the details, but I was saying to Linda maybe we need to make a cocktail called the Beringe in honor of Mom. 

Glenn (one of the brothers to Linda who lives with Mom) called me yesterday in the morning to tell me he was in his bedroom when he heard a loud thud in the kitchen. He went to see, and Mom had fallen when she got up from the chair. No broken hips but 8 hours later after being in the emergency room she had a support brace on her right shoulder and waist. I called her last night, and she was eating ice cream, watching the news and laughing at herself.  I told her I’d call her today.

Bernice is a gem. I committed to honoring her in this book. Yes, it took my focused time and energy, but she was worth every moment of it. Now the book is done. I’ll send Linda the ebook on Friday so she can show Mom the book that’s coming.

So my message for you today is to prioritize yourself so you can “catch” your write heart memories. Your write heart memories are happening right before your very eyes – your cat doing something silly, the sun rising, the rain falling, the sip of coffee that hits the spot and the deep down satisfaction that you are showing up to work 100%. You’re not going to splinter off into mindless multi-tasking. You will focus on one thing at a time, so it brings you success, fun and maybe some Beringe.