Checking in

Amazingly, managing to put in 5-6 hours this week on revision. On top of everything else going on, I'm really surprised. But somehow the busier I am, the more I'm able to fit into my schedule. I'm really taking everything one day at a time. There are other things I could (should) be doing tonight, but I think they will find a way to get done anyway.

The most important thing that I learned while working at The Free Press was the knowledge that everything that needs to get done will get done. I draw upon this lesson on a near-daily basis. As a newspaper copy editor, at the beginning of each shift, you have a couple of dozen entirely blank pages. At the beginning of the shift, all you know is that in 10 hours, those pages will be filled. It's a necessity. There's no way the paper is NOT going to be published. The press room needs the pages at 12:15 a.m., and turning over blank pages is NOT an option. So even when it seems impossible, you know that somehow, some way, in those intervening 10 hours, the job WILL get done. The work that I do now is usually not done in terms of hours, but the same concept applies. The syllabus NEEDS to be done in five days. The revision for this work-for-hire kids' book NEEDS to be done at the end of the month. How I get there is something that I know will eventually work itself out. Knowing that I will get there is immensely comforting and helps alleviate the stress.

The sharpest image of this lesson in action comes from a June night at the Free Press. I was putting together the sports section, which I often did (and loved! I miss those days...). The state softball tournament was in town. This demanded a full two-page spread in the middle of the sports section. Wide open, no ads, plenty of room for lots of stories and photos.

At 10 p.m., I was staring at two ENTIRELY blank pages. The games were just wrapping up. No stories had come in yet, no photos. I could have panicked, but figured that would do me no good. I just repeated the mantra, "In two hours, somehow, this will all be done." And it was! We got it out, on deadline. If I can do that, I can do anything!