Last Thursday was a long day. I had a split work day, which means my schedule varied from my usual 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. routine to early morning and late afternoon blocks . In between these mini-shifts, I had a doctor’s appointment, lunch, errands, etc. The last two hours of my workday were spent teaching a small group of individuals with disabilities about Money Mapping, a new term for budgeting. Sounds productive, right? It was a great day, yet my head and heart kept wandering to the final event of my long day: the Institute of Children’s Literature Rhyming Animal Poetry Contest Winners webinar. I entered this contest back in March with a poem I wrote called My Animal Ball. After three or four drafts, I knew I had it right and I submitted just in time to meet the deadline.
As Thursday evening drew to a close at work, I pulled into the driveway a little after 7:00 p.m. I watched the clock with excitement: 8:00 Eastern time and the webinar would begin. Before the Zoom meeting opened, I took care of my evening chores, yet the clock seemed to tick more slowly the closer it got to 8:00.
Fast forward to 8:30: the welcome comments and announcements complete, Author Victoria Sherrow began with place number five: I saw my poem pop up on the screen and listened with delight as Kelli Panique read it aloud. I was shaking with happiness as Ms. Sherrow critiqued it with positive, encouraging comments. As the conclusion came, about ten minutes later, I ran from my office into the living room of my house to shout the good news to my joyous family.
Winning a contest sure feels good! And it propels me like gasoline to continue on this arduous and wondrous freelance writing journey.
margaret.r.zotkiewicz 