I thought I could and I did

This little engine thought she could.  Up, up the hill she went, moving slowly at times, yet still persevering and never giving up.  She made it through the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) challenge-- to write a novel in one month's time-- never giving up the hope. 

Endless obstacles she encountered: daily chores, tending to children's school and extra-curricular activities, weekend madness, Thanksgiving feasts at schools and a week without school for the kids; yet she kept on chugging along.  Yes, this little engine wanted to accomplish her goal so badly that she pushed through, even when she didn't feel like it. 

At one point near the end, the going got tough; her head began to hurt, her eyesight got weaker and her neck and shoulders became so stiff, she thought she might fall off course.  But wonderful friends, especially her angel Pearl, cheered her along.  At times, doubt crept in and she thought she was insane to attempt this feat in November (of all months).  Sometimes she even felt it was all for nothing.  Still, she continued forward with a vengeance.  Why?  Because she needed to; she needed to make it across the finish line.  If you are a writer, you will understand.


Yesterday, November 23, 2010 at approximately 10:00 p.m., I finished my novel.  I was a close second to my writing buddy Pearl who, because of my brain hiccup (when I thought the word count was only 45,000 instead of 50,000) thought I would finish on the 22nd and so typed furiously away in order to finish on the same day.  And she still continued to cheer me on.  Thank you, my dear Pearl. 

I also could not have finished last night if Pete hadn't taken the kids to the Harry Potter movie.  It was difficult for me to miss that movie, but I was able to complete my goal.  And guess what?  It felt great! 

Now comes the hard part of editing, revising and polishing, but I'm in no hurry on that... today.

              HAPPY THANKSGIVING!