Autumn Ambitions
Happy fall, y’all!
Ok, so it’s September 3rd, and the first official day of fall isn’t until the 22nd, but HEAR ME OUT. September 1st is the gateway to pumpkin season. Yes, it is. It is. I’m ready to die on this hill. True, it’s supposed to be close to ninety degrees today, my kid’s kiddie pool is still up in the front yard, and I’d probably smother if I wore any type of scarf, but here in the Fontenot house, the seasons have changed.
Yes, my fall decorations are up. Yes, there is orange everywhere. Yes, every room smells like pumpkin spice. The aesthetic of my home might not match the reality of the weather outside, but when that first red leaf drops, I’ll be ready.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for, after all.
In a way, writing is a little like waiting for fall. You’ve got your pens, your notebooks, your laptop, your favorite caffeinated drink…when the Muse danes to walk through your door, you’ll be ready for her. Because, as we’ve talked about in previous posts, inspiration isn’t just something you can catch with a butterfly net anytime the mood to write strikes you. In fact, often you don’t find it, it finds you, and if it doesn’t find you working, it’s not likely to stick around.
I took a little writing hiatus over the summer to be with my kids and also gain some much-needed mental wellness, and now I’m feeling that restless, itchy need to get back to work. I’m not terribly inspired to write anything, I just don’t feel like me without it. Old Hillary would have waited indefinitely for something bright and shiny to catch my writerly attention, but current-day Hillary knows better. Inspiration is a feeling, and we can’t live by our feelings.
Writing is a job. Jobs require work. Work involves self-discipline. And so, here I am, clicking away behind the laptop again.
But back to my love of all things fall. For me, fall is not the end of a thing, but the beginning of one. Without any effort on my part, something dormant in me awakens when the air turns crip and golden. There is promise on the wind: change is coming, adventure is not far-off.
I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for a little adventure.
Who knows what that means in the grand scheme of things, but as for me, I’m confident that at least part of that adventure will include writing. I have blog posts to get to, and I’m determined to finish The Sky Itself, the second book in my trilogy The Chronicles of Freedom’s End. God willing, publication is also in my future.
Thus, with the changing of the seasons comes new goals and dreams and lots of plain old hard work. I’m excited and I’m nervous but I’m ready. Anything can happen, and though I can’t see the future, I’m expecting good things.
How can I not? Such is the magic of September.