It’s funny—I was so immensely excited Tuesday night and then again Wednesday morning, when I woke and Barack Obama was still the president-elect and I realized it was not a dream and it really happened. Such happiness. But then I settled into the normal day-to-day and real life set in and I came away by end of day feeling solidly trapped and unsure of where to go. Scared. I guess when you shoot up-up you always come down. My down just happened sooner than I expected. Or maybe it’s just that you can’t hang all your hopes on who the president is: You have to take responsibility for yourself and your choices. I bet you Barack Obama would agree with that.

I am telling myself to go one day at a time. By next Saturday I will have finished Draft 1.5 of this manuscript and turned it in to the publisher. This is the best thing happening in my life right now… so after that, what’s next? Revisions, sure, but I mean WHAT’S NEXT? And I don’t just mean cleaning the apartment.