So this week got away from me (Wednesday field notes on a Friday this week, /sigh). A couple of weeks ago I found out that my day job was restructuring and that by end of year I was going to be let go with a small severance. As a father of four, I immediately hit the ground running on trying to find a replacement, as my number one priority in life is taking care of my amazing and beautiful wife and my gorgeous daughters. With the job market being like it is, I have been spending a lot more time job hunting in the immediate time frame than the writing that I love. But hey, that’s life.
What I expected to be six to eight months of job hunting before interviews started rolling in turned into two serious potential interests in me. One of which was pretty easy for my current skill set, and the other is definitely going to take a ramp up on skills and require me to move myself to the next level when it comes to technology. (Won’t bore you with the details here, as it’s WAY off of what Heirs is about, but I like to ramble sometimes and will get to the point here soon.) As part of that I’ve been doing a lot of studying, prototype and proof-of-concept building, and in general having to skill up in ways I haven’t had to for a while. This ate into all my potential writing time.
My wife and I were discussing this the other day. She is the one in the relationship who stresses a lot about things, and I’m the one who has more of a laissez-faire attitude in general. As we were discussing, she made a point I hadn’t ever really connected with before. She called me “scrappy.” I didn’t quite understand what she meant at the time, but she was saying I’m relentless. When something needs doing, I push and I push and I push. I don’t let anything stop me. I may get sidetracked and derailed at times. It may feel like I’ve been hit by a freight train. But I never let anything get me down for more than a day or so, and then I get back at it.
I know that not everyone is like this. And that’s okay. The worry that she has is a GREAT counterbalance to me. I push forward when I should slow down. I don’t always think things through. And she puts those brakes on me, and together we ensure that we stay on course.
I write this field note not as discouragement, but as the opposite. For all those who want to write, compose, or do whatever with their lives, don’t let the times where you don’t get to dedicate your time and effort to your passions dissuade you. Let it encourage you. Know that you are amazing and that whatever roadblock may hit you, you can overcome it. Whether you need a break for today, this week, a year, or whatever it may be, don’t let your dreams die just because life threw you a curve ball. Always be willing to get back up. For as long as you keep trying, you have never failed.