Another Winter Gone

 It's a saying we use up north and it's usually uttered cryptically, sarcastically or candidly ..

"Got through another winter."

There may be a wry note or a hike of expectation. It might be a declaration of success or an anticipation that no matter what you do, winter will come again.

"Got through another winter."

It's funny... and sometimes sad. Sad because not everyone makes it through a rough winter. It's not a guarantee.

I was thinking of this the other day as we were organizing the attic. My attic is finished. It's got two finished rooms, long before the advent of "bonus rooms" in houses up here.

FYI: Bonus rooms are a clever way of getting around a bigger septic system because the size of your septic system here is governed by the number of bedrooms in your house. So a 4 bedroom house must have a bigger system than a 3 bedroom or 2 bedroom and septic systems here are five-figure investments... So that adds up really quick. So houses have begun incorporating "bonus rooms" so that they're not flagged for a bigger, pricier septic system.

I love my attic. At least I will love it again when it's cleared out, so between yesterday and today we organized, filled totes, labeled and moved all those books to the big shed. The sales shed is 14' x 36' so it's like a small house. :) We love this shed. Built by a formerly Amish family in Pennsylvania, they trailered it up last spring and I honestly don't know what we did without it! But I digress, the two-room attic had become a hidden harbor for books. 

So many books! My books! The generosity of publishers meant I had hundreds of books to give away every year so even if I had 50 books that didn't get given away, over 11 years, that's 550 extra books. :) That's a lot of books.  So we've been doing book giveaways for assisted living centers, nursing homes, senior apartments or neighborhoods, fundraisers... we've been making sure that we're getting them out there, but there were still enough to fill 14 plastic totes of varying sizes, but we got smart.... We sorted them, got appropriately sized totes, labeled them and they're all living in their own spot in the big sales shed... My goal to reclaim my attic is near at hand. :) 

What does reclaiming the attic have to do with writing or books or winter?

Stories are created in a step-by-step fashion. They're never a single entity, they're a blending of setting, characters, plot, angst, desire, goals, conflict and resolution, and when an author finishes a book... when we do that last round of edits, that final polish, that slice-and-dice to tighten the laces on a really great new pair of boots, it's like clearing out the attic. Or a closet. Or a pantry. It's that feeling of success and satisfaction. Only--

At least at Blodgett Family Farm--

No one pays me to clean a closet or an attic or a room or anything, LOL! 

But they do pay me to write books, and that's a wonderful reason to finish the book, wrap it up, take a deep breath and move on to the next one.

In my life there's always another room to clean and in my professional life (so far)...

There's always another book to write because it's a lot like getting through another winter. The truth is that I love writing stories...

And I actually like winter because there's nothing like the anticipation of spring and color and grass and flowers and warmth once you've mastered winter. It's a natural high...

So I'm happy to say...

"Got through another winter."

And we're mighty glad it's spring! 

Bestselling inspirational author Ruth Logan Herne is living the life she dreamed of a long time ago when she was a little girl, longing to write the stories she loved to read. Here she is, author of nearly 70 books and co-owner of a popular pumpkin farm that delights old and young alike. Come see her on the farm, friend her on Facebook, email Ruthy at loganherne@gmail.com , visit her website or visit with her here in Seekerville. She makes a mean cup of coffee and loves to chat with people!