I am working on a second memoir. I am working on it even if publishing it may not happen. My editor told me things with memoirs were slow, unless you’re a celebrity. I do understand that celebrity memoirs are dominating the genre. I keep writing regardless.

I like what Pearl S. Buck had to say about the writing process. She writes, “I don’t wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has to get down to work.” Writing is like going to the gym today. I don’t want to do it, would rather be sleeping, but know it is good to forge on. So, I walked on the treadmill this morning and am now sitting in the favorite room in my house, the study, surrounded by deep blue walls, willing to be present enough to give writing my all.

I conjure up gardenias in my mind and breath them in. The smell is like a bite out of my favorite vanilla bar. I imagine my grandmother sitting beside me, silent, and am hoping to catch her voice. A picture of her pinned to my bulletin board, she in half shadow, looks imperial to me. I remember that writing about a grandmother is not cool. Too sentimental. My grandmother is no longer sitting beside me. Ha.

I will venture out into the world today. I look forward to being a worker among workers. I will glow in the presence of my colleagues at the library because they are good people. Tonight, I will retire knowing that I am loved and I do love. The mind is a wonderful place to visit. Forge on.