August 28th, 2016: Returning to the Rat Race

     After working in the printing industry for over forty-one years, I decided that it was time for me to retire last August 7th, 2015. I set about to pursue the career that I always dreamed of and began to write fiction every day. For the next fifty-one weeks, I rose every day and went to my new job in the back of my house where my computer was situated. Actually publishing my first couple of stories before I retired, I went on to write seven books with ideas for many more stories in my mind.
     Dreams sometimes give way to the morning waking as the sleep falls away and we realize that we have to make our way back to that environment that sustains us financially. It was not something that I resented or dreaded, but rather just the direction where my life led me. I accepted it and dove right back into the work force when the company I had retired from let me know that they were in need of some experienced workers. It was a job that I could walk right into with no need to be trained, working with people I knew well and could fit comfortably together with.
    I've almost completed my first month back, and the job is going fine. The money is helping me pay some debts that were run up earlier this year, and will soon be deposited directly into savings when those debts are paid off. I am going to have to work very hard in the next month to carve out the necessary time to continue my writing career, as I have a completed novel in need of editing, another short story that has been outlined, and an anthology of all my short stories with some new work included that I want to complete by the end of the year. It was an ambitious schedule for me when I was not working, but now will take the most incredible focus, and may prove to be impossible.
     I know that this company I work for has seasonal slowdowns, so there may be several weeks when I will be laid off and able to turn my attention back to writing, but for the meantime, I will have to squeeze some time out of my evenings to get the work done.
     I strongly believe that all things happen for a reason, so I continue to lay my life in the hands of God and trust that He will enable me to be more than I should be able to be.
     I am a fan of a great deal of science fiction, and Dr. Who is part of the film that I have seen extensively. There was a quote toward the end of last season that I really love. The Doctor siad it once, but the character Clara Oswald expanded on it later. The  quote is as follows"

"Don't Give Up. Not Ever.

Not for one single day.

Be Safe, if you can be.

But always be amazing."

    I hope that in  everything that I do, I will always strive to be amazing...