Hello Universe, Can You Hear Me?

It has been a little while since I have put together a blog piece, so let me apologize for my absence before I get rolling here. As you guys will see, though, there are some legitimate reasons for my being gone so long.

Much of that time has been spent marketing Karaoke Night, which is now available for pre-order. It's a bit of a thankless task, but one that appears to be paying off given that my publisher is more than happy with my early sales numbers.

More than that, though, I have simply not been in a very good head space of late, a state of being that is not entirely uncommon. Much of it has to do with a creeping sense of self-doubt that always seems to come to life in the moments before I sleep or think about writing some new words. While not connected, I have also spent the last couple of days in bed with an unpleasant little bug of some kind. It's a bit of a mild downward spiral that needed some type of intervention for it all to end. That came this morning in the form of a a greeting card.

I am not what anyone would call a spiritual man. I don't believe in any type of higher power and I certainly don't think that we are guided by some unseen force that is responsible for everything that happens in our lives. I do believe, though, that certain events have a way of slotting into your current timeline at just the right moment.

This morning, I picked up yesterday's mail and saw that I had received a card from my Auntie Helen, who currently resides in Spain. She has always played a major role in my life, and was one of the people who helped make the passing of my Mum a little more bearable, if such a thing is possible. In the card that she sent, she told me how proud my parents would be at being published, and she told me that she and my Mum would often talk about how they knew I would someday write a book.

As the publishing of Karaoke Night approaches, I have spent a lot of time thinking about how I wish my Mum and Dad could have been around to see it. Knowing that my Mum believed that I had it in me to make it happen makes me feel that much better. The message in that card broke my heart and mended it in a matter of moments. I am awake again today and ready to get back to work, feeling a little more confident in my abilities.

So, thank you, Auntie Helen, for once again doing what you have done for me so many times in my 51 years in this universe. If I did believe in guardian angels, I would almost certainly believe that you are mine.

JW