Wreaking Havoc

Me and my mom wreaking havoc at a Lionel Richie concert.

Damage, disruption and destruction. 

I've been writing a book.  I've been writing it for months and I'm almost ready to turn in the first draft to the publisher.I knew the day would come when I would need to send the draft to my mother.  My mom is a retired high school English teacher and is one dissertation away from a PhD.  She reads six books a week.  Her grammar is correct.  Her skill of language is elite. She never told me not to cuss as a kid, she just told me that cussing was a lazy way to use the brilliancy of the English language.  Dang.

Don't hear me wrong.  She is of course kind, hilarious and poignant. She is the best at loving me well.  The BEST.  But if you want a piece of your writing to stand out and have impact, you send it to her for some fierce editing.  And then you wait for her to wreak havoc on your little baby words. 

When the paper returns and you wade through her edits, it will be better.  Your paper will be amazing.  But you might have to lick a few wounds along the way.  Never let pride get in the way of a great recommendation.  

I sent my draft to mom last week.  When I hit "send" I turned to Nate, eyes big and body stress-sweaty.  What would she think?  Would she be proud of my thought?  Would she be embarrassed about the dangle of my participles?

What she returned to me was as expected.  Entropy ensued in big red marks.  But, what she unearthed in my writing was deep and true.  Her suggestions were perfect.  I mean, perfect. She saw things in a new and different light, encouraging me to explore more or use less words.  The chaos of her edits is turning into a finely sculpted, impactful piece.  I wouldn't have gotten here without her loving disruption. 

Sometimes you have to dump out the junk drawer so you can organize it.  Sometimes you have to let homeschool expectations fly out the window so you can create calm in your house.  Sometimes you have to shut down a country.  Sometimes you have to try something new sexually only to fail hard in order to connect better. 

Sometimes you have to wreak havoc.

What are you wreaking havoc on this week?

Love,

Celeste