Day 6 of the Fall Mini 1000

Hi friends.

Today we will write 1000 words. Because this is part of our legacy. Part of what we are doing with our lives while we are on this earth. We are all present and accounted for when we write.

In a few weeks I’ll be turning fifty, which still feels outrageous to say. It’s a good age to reflect on things, what I’ve done with my life so far, and what I’d like to be doing in the next ten years and beyond. (Oh you know I made a to-do list for my fifties, yes ma’am.)

I feel lucky to have made it this long considering how wild my youth was. (By “youth” I mean basically until I was 40, of course.) And I do feel proud — finally, at last, at least a little bit — of what I’ve accomplished so far. But I always wonder: Is it enough? Am I enough?

And sometimes the answer is: No, there’s much to be done yet. And sometimes the answer is: Maybe, go on, you can love yourself, you can enjoy yourself, you can live in a small moment of triumph. But the answer is never: Yes, and you’re done. You can stop working now.

Because writing is not just my job, how I make my living. It is what I do.

By being here, writing these days, writing on other days, six months from now, since you were a child, whenever, in your journals, on tiny scraps of paper you leave all over the house, on your laptops, in an email you send to yourself on your phone, you are actually being yourself. This is who you are. You are a writer. It’s a part of your life. A part of your being.

And I truly believe that if you love this thing, this act, this craft, this written expression of your thoughts and feelings and ideas, then acknowledging it and tending to it — even if it is in stolen moments — is exactly what you should be doing with your time. It’s never a waste of time. You’re never a waste of time. We’re never a waste of time.

This has been a really helpful and important week for me, and I thank you as always for being here, and being in community with me.

As always, if you would like to support me, the best way is to pre-order my eighth book. I’ll be back next week over at Craft Talk.

Good luck out there.

Jami