CELEBRATING BEFORE THE SUCCESS (HOLLY SCHINDLER)

Memorial Day peonies.

So I was taking a picture of our annual peonies, and it suddenly struck me that we never take pictures of a flower bulb. Or seeds. Or dirt in a pot. Or even of a bud about to burst.

We take pictures of the finished product.

Which is also often how we treat any work in progress. We don't celebrate it--not until it's also a finished product.

We celbrate completion. Success. We celebrate the journey after we know the hard work has paid off.

This holiday weekend, though, I want to take a moment to celebrate before the success.

For everyone out there who has taken the plunge, who is writing and doesn't know if anyone will ever want to publish their work--keep watering. Keep the sunlight coming in. Doubt is acidic--nothing can grow there.

You'll get where you want to go. But only if you keep at it, keep at it, keep at it.

And from here on out, be sure to celebrate every little step along the way.