THE MEMOIRS OF SUMMER RAY

Greetings from Gettysburg,

I have been working on this puzzle for several months.

At first, I was very enthusiastic about it. I thought, “It can’t be that hard.” It has been a challenge to say the least, and why it is taking me so long to finish it. I lost my motivation. It is defined as, “the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way.” I like the picture and with the 250th anniversary of America coming up, I thought it would be nice in a frame. But I lost my motivation. Then one afternoon, when I sat down to crochet, I realized I didn’t have the color yarn I needed. So, I looked up at the puzzle sitting on the shelf and I started working on it again. I felt exactly the same – zero motivation. I didn’t even want to do it. I just needed to feel productive. One piece, led to another, and then another, and so on. Somehow along the way, I started to get my energy back for it. It is still a pain trying to get it done. But the point is, I found my encouragement to keep working on it.

When I started working on the books in January, the mountain I had to climb looked like Mt. Everest.

But I was excited to finally add my own ISBNs, barcodes, and my logo. Then half way through, I was so depleted that I felt defeated. My energy for the work was used up. But I am happy to say that the 7th volume will be ready next week and I already started the 8th one. But let me also say this. It is okay to get tired. It is okay to step away for a little bit to ease the burn out. I started working a little on the film side; reading blogs from Carole Dean our fiscal sponsor, working on the character clips, etc. Anything but having to write and edit. I concentrated on taking longer walks, working with my skating coach, (we will be back at the rink soon). She is recovering from a broken shoulder and I am recovering from post COVID. But back on the ice is the goal. There are just steps that must be taken before that can happen. There is a process and as much as I want to skate, I know I need to get stronger or I will end up getting seriously hurt and setting myself back even further. It is the same for Cathy! This is the process of patience. I may want to be in production. But I cannot put the cart before the horse. I have to take the necessary steps to present the project in the best way possible. There are many things that must be in place, both with the publishing and the production, in order for us to be professional. But it isn’t just being professional, it is about having a captivating and intriguing story that people will connect to. I can be a professional all I want and still have a lousy story that does absolutely nothing.

The beginning of the goal is great. Reaching the ending is great. But it is what we do in the middle of that goal (in my opinion) is the most important. Some people give up half way through. One of my favorite quotes is by Colonel Henry Knox of the Continental Army. He wrote this quote in a letter to his wife:

“Perseverance accomplished what at first seemed impossible.”

He wrote that after the crossing the Delaware.

For me not crossing or not climbing to get where I need to be, and to do what I need to do, is not an option. I HAVE to do it. If God wasn’t with this project, I would have quit a long time ago. But I have persevered and believe me, there are times I just don’t want to. The work is hard. My body and mind get tired. My feelings get hurt. I get depressed. But because I have seen way too much of God’s hand on this project, I absolutely will see it through. He is ready to assist. But I have to keep moving forward. I can’t stay in the middle of the river. My momentum is directly attached to my motivation. I have gotten through the worst of the editing and the updating as I only have two more books to finish. One, like I said, will be published shortly. But my July 4th goal will be met and that makes me very, very happy. I start this new class with our fiscal sponsor From the Heart Productions in two weeks as well. www.fromtheheartproductions.com. In the meantime, I will continue to work on the above puzzle one piece at a time, and on this project!

Thank you for being a part of our Summer Ray world.

To view the series on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FQ2Q19LN

References: http://www.dictionary.com; Library of Congress GW Crossing the Delware, https://www.loc.gov/item/2020633689/; https://nj.gov/state/historical/assets/pdf/topical/war-document-december-28th-1776.pdf