Across Six Months

Gifted author of the last century Irene Hunt wrote a wonderful book entitled Across Five Aprils. In it she wove a poignant story based on her grandfather’s life as a young teen during the years of the Civil War (from Fort Sumter in April 1861 to Lincoln’s assassination in April 1865. I’ll never be an Irene Hunt, but her title intrigues me, so I want to paraphrase it as I set out to weave a bridge across the six and a half months since I last wrote on this blog.

Back then my husband and I had just finished a busy summer of travel. We had visited old friends and old times in our lives. My friend Krista’s baby had been born with a serious heart problem the doctors already knew about, and I had just facilitated a new online course for missionary coworkers.

Since then, my husband has had both knees replaced and made an excellent recovery. Krista’s baby has gone on the heart-transplant list. During research on the genealogical resource Ancestry, I discovered an ancestral line that reached back into the 1100s. And I heard from a literary agent that he might be interested in representing my Tangled Strands novel if I did certain things.

That led to a flurry of efforts that writers understand—changing a point of view, writing a new scene for the main character, adding references to enhance my time setting, exploring the possibility of a mentor. I agonized over a new synopsis, and I sent it all in before leaving on a two-week trip.

Suddenly, with the exchange of three e-mails, I had on my computer an agent agreement. Please print two copies, sign them, and return them to the agent. My husband took a picture of my signing them that very evening before I caught a 6 o’clock flight the next morning for Colorado.

That was two weeks ago last evening. After visiting friends in four states, I’ve been home since 4 o’clock this afternoon. Buried in the pile of mail was a copy of the agent agreement bearing both my signature and his. I’m going to have to take a another picture.

Where do I go from here? First on my list is to write and resurrect this blog. Next, I have a long list of thank-you notes to write related to our travels during the last two weeks. Starting next week, I’ll facilitate another online course. In the very near future, my husband will have another surgery, unrelated to the knees, and once again I’ll be here to help him make a good recovery.

Beyond all those things, I’m eager to get back to my story. I want to expand on a romantic attraction in it, deepen the story’s theme, and make some final adjustments in those points of view. I’m happy to be back home, and I look forward to getting back to a semblance of routine. Spring has always been my favorite season, and I am soaking it up with joy. I rejoice in having meaningful work to do and grateful that I’m healthy enough to do it—in spite of the aches and pains inevitable in my season of life.

With God’s help, may the next six months be as full and profitable as the last six.