I want all of my days to go beautifully and smoothly. I’d love for y’all to think that’s how I roll. But here’s the truth. Yesterday was not a Wonder Woman day. It was a hang on by your fingernails as sweat rolls down your face kind of day. Think I’m kidding about the sweat? Just look at the thermostat. That’s inside my house at 8:30 p.m. Yes, you read it correctly. It says 87 degrees. Seriously! And I can feel each solitary one of them as I sit here composing this post shortly after midnight — all because my spinning ball of death on my computer became a great excuse to play ten to many games of 1010.
Excuse, me while I step away for a moment.
You still here?
Oh good!
I just had to take a moment to delete that game from my phone. I may have a slightly addictive personality, but I also know how to wield a delete button.
Though if you ask my line editor, she might disagree. Fortunately though, she found 15,000 words to cut from my first legal suspense. Yep, 15K! Now the book is only slightly pudgy at 92,000 words, but each one belongs. At least I hope you think so when you read Beyond Justice.
Where on earth did all these numbers come from? I might have a MBA, but it doesn’t mean I’m a fan of numbers. Really!
Speaking of numbers, I live in a relatively small town in Indiana. It’s ten miles to get to Purdue where I teach. It’s 12 miles to get to church. It’s probably 5 or 6 to get to the law firm. Yesterday I crossed town approximately 5 times…Put about 75 miles on the car. In my small town. It’s sad just how many times that happens when I’m stuck behind every slow driver in a five state area.
So then I was going to take a photo of the sunset to enjoy the beauty God painted and this happened:
Y’all didn’t know when you popped over here, I’d write a comedy piece. Neither did I. I’ve been informed early and often by a certain brother (clears throat, JOSH!) that I was born without a funny bone. But somedays, I just have to find the silliness. It’s that or pull out all of my hair, and bald is not a good option for it. This I know with certainty!
So my prayer is today is that no matter how your yesterday didn’t cooperate with your plans, that today you would feel God’s warm embrace — or at least His shadow if the inside of your house is as hot as mine. And that maybe somewhere along the journey you’d take the time to giggle, snicker, or snort, because the joy of the Lord is our strength. And somedays I need that more than others.
Now where did my sweaty Wonder Woman bracelets roll off to? Anyone know?
(Look, Robin, I remembered a headline this time!) 😉
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Ane Mulligan says
Thanks, Cara. I needed this (and your humor kept drawing me on 😀). Yesterday was long and frustrating. It shouldn’t have been but I kept running into problems a more computer techie person could have breezed through. Thank the Lord for the Apple people who were a quick phone call (3 to be exact) away. I was setting up my new MacBook Air and had problems … Me not the computer. Anyway, I’m now in a better frame of mind for today. Thanks!
Cara Putma says
It was one of those days I just had to choose to laugh. Hope today is better!
Karen Witemeyer says
I remember our air conditioning going out. Not a good thing in Texas. Thank heaven for ceiling fans and ice cubes!
And can I just say that you are remarkably calm about the surgery performed on your manuscript. Losing 15,000 words is nearly cutting out a novella. Whew! It takes a lot of trust in your editor to submit that kind of pruning, but it sounds like you’re on the right track. So excited for your legal thriller! What a fun change of pace for you. 🙂
Oh, and I think I saw the Wonder Woman bracelets in the invisible jet out back. 😉
Cara Putman says
I must find that jet! I seriously need it, Karen. I’m so excited to move into legal thrillers. 🙂
Betty w says
I also live in Indiana. Right where the Ohio River meets Kentucky. Boy does it get HOT & then we know you have to refigure the temperature due to humidity. Then you have the heat index when you go outside. Same thing as the wind chill factor in the winter, only in reverse. I feel your pain (sweat)!
Cara Putman says
The heat has been painful, but I’m loving this colder spell. The windows are open and we aren’t missing the a/c. Hopefully it will get replaced in the next day or two.
Beth Erin says
We had thermostat issues this summer (and we’re in southern Illinois so I understand the heat and humidity issue). Fortunately, we didn’t have to live through more than one hot day before my husband managed to hotwire the system. He is Mister Fix-It, we’ve never had to call a repairman. I hope your AC troubles are resolved quickly!
Cara Putman says
Turns out we had multiple holes in the coil, so brand new system coming our way. Guess that’s what emergency funds are for!