So this is how my mind works. Or doesn’t.
I was so discombobulated with the whole Blogger Idol fiasco yesterday that I couldn’t even think about what I wanted to write for today. The idea of coming up with a topic was exhausting, so I decided to do what a lot of NaBloPoMo bloggers do.
No, ye of little faith, I didn’t throw in the towel.
I looked for a prompt.
There were a lot of really fascinating ones but they seemed to involve way too much thought. Like Write a post in the style of (or simply inspired by) a favorite author. Or Explain your biggest regret – as though to a small child.
Definitely food for thought but the equivalent of chewing a well done steak when all I wanted was to suck down spoonfuls of ice cream.
Then I came across this one, which sounded both intriguing and manageable:
Click over to your favorite blog, and pick out the 4th and 14th words (that aren’t “the” or “an”). Drop them into this phrase:
“_____ is the new _____.”
There’s your post title. Now write!
I am obsessed with Orange is the New Black and I had just finished reading a gorgeous post called “Testing the Weary” on one of my favorite blogs (Transitioning Mom) by one of my favorite people (Mary Lanzavecchia), so I was totally inspired.
Here was Mary’s first paragraph, with the words I was supposed to use in bold.
I’ve sat down and started several different posts again this morning. However, the words are blocked, thoughts jumbled, and my heart disinterested.
This meant my post would be “Started is the new Blocked.”
Perfect.
I realize that may sound crazy to most of you, including my husband who supports my enthusiasm even when he has no idea what I’m talking about, but it totally resonated with me.
The very first post I wrote this year was about the word I was choosing for 2013. That word was “do,” and I talked about how well it fit in with the life-changing new philosophy I had recently embraced, “Done is better than perfect.”
All year, because I’ve been so determined to “do,” I’ve tried to overcome any feelings of being “blocked” by just getting “started.” See?
This was like coming full circle to me!
I felt completely validated, like I had been given a sign that I had truly fulfilled the promise of my word. What a great way to end the year!
Then, for some reason, I glanced at the prompt again, only to realize that the word I was supposed to skip in Mary’s paragraph was “an,” not “and.” That meant that not only do I probably need glasses but that I HAD DONE THE WHOLE THING INCORRECTLY.
I was supposed to be writing “And is the new Are.”
Are you kidding me?
That doesn’t even make sense.
So I took a deep breath, downed an entire trenta Starbucks iced tea while I pondered the implications of my error, and came to this conclusion:
Whatever.
My post for the day is finished, I’ve completed my NaBloPoMo obligation, and once again I’ve proved – at least to myself – that done is better than perfect.
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