Summer Potluck for Monday, with Blackberries
July 07, 2008 By: almostgotit Category: Uncategorized, blogging, humor, food, friendship, parenting, interviewing, Iowa summer festival of writing, umemployment, polyvore
Last year, it was a terrific party. The fireflies came out after we’d done picking berries, and we ate and talked and sat around until we filled the country farm house and sun porch and spilled out into the yard where we sat on creaking lawn chairs. Kids shot off fireworks while the adults sampled jars of genuine Southern moonshine, the origins of which our host couldn’t actually reveal, for legal reasons…
We missed it last night.
It’s complicated. The Husband got stuck at a long meeting - yes, on Sunday. The Son needed to have some staples taken out of his head, also on a Sunday, and subsequently discovered that the Minute Clinic model is, perhaps, misnamed. The Daughter was very mad to miss the blackberry-picking part, even though last year she got two ticks in the process.
The Mother just pulled out some pork chops, warmed up the grill, and sighed.
Even though her mother is very maddening, I’m very glad that my daughter is willing to load the dishwasher anyway.
I have received three job rejection letters in two weeks. However, I met an author at the Iowa Summer Writing Festival who has already received thirty-six rejection letters for one of his manuscripts, and he cheerfully plans to go for an even one hundred.
I have some catching up to do.
My amazing brother faithfully reads this blog, and has been very helpful with some of the technical problems I run into from time to time.
He also periodically sends this English major a quick note when I’ve misspelled something. Thank you, *dearest* brother. ;0)
Since I also now have completed my most recent set of interviews, and was not offered that particular job, I can now go ahead and post a response to this post about handling rejection by friend Peggy of the Career Encouragement Blog.
July 8th, 2008 at 1:04 am
Congratulations on your rejection!
I don’t mean to be flip. It’s true that the only way to get anywhere is to go through the rejection part. Am looking forward to your post…
And have a big bowl of blackberries for me!
July 8th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Thanks so much, W.G., and I definitely will accept your Congrats in the spirit you have offered them! Hurray for ME!
July 9th, 2008 at 9:50 am
36 rejection letters for a manuscript?! I applaud that author for his determination. It inspires me, actually, because when I do finally get around to writing my novel and sending it out I’ll remember that, unless I’m hit with a miracle, it takes time. Even for the best! Love your polyvore set, btw
July 9th, 2008 at 10:48 am
Thanks, Cassandra! Yep- the more times at bat, the more chances for a hit. The “100 rejection letters” goal was proposed to us at the conference during a talk about writer’s block. The speaker suggested we turn everything around and stop worrying about failure so much, seeing it instead as a badge of honor. She also read a long list of very famous books that were all initially rejected by publishers, some of them multiple times!
Another thing she told us was this: “The worst thing that you’ve ever written is better than the best thing you’ve NEVER written.” Cheers to you —