Early this week, in a fit of creative inspiration, I challenged myself to a daily blog entry for the week. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday went by and I met my challenge. Then Thursday evening my adversary named Self-Doubt stopped by, and I stalled out. So I wrote the following for Friday:

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The hell with the week-long challenge

So this has been fun, but it’s getting stressful, and I’m finding myself peeking at Facebook every five minutes, well, that might be a slight exaggeration, but sometimes when I write this blog, I find myself turning into an insecure person desperate for some likes. It’s getting really bad when you tell your son to like your blog post, so he likes them all even though he hasn’t read any of them. Aiie! I don’t care for that needy, insecure me that crops up sometimes, so I’m going to cut off this challenge today.

I will keep writing. I’m writing a children’s story for my grandchildren and great-niece and a Storyworth memoir. I also have some ideas for future blog posts. They will appear in March or April. Thank you to everyone who has supported me with a “like” or a comment. I do appreciate them. I just don’t want to depend upon them for my peace of mind!

Ciao for now!

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I wrote the preceding as my final/give-up-the-challenge blogpost for the week.

Then I peeked at Facebook one more time… and read an encouraging comment from a friend.

Oh, crap, I thought. I can’t end with that final post now. I have to continue and fulfill my challenge to myself. Then I wrote a post about my husband’s artwork.

Of course, watching the Olympics helped too. How can you not be motivated to persevere when hearing the stories of athletes who have struggled and kept on. Right now I am thinking of the women’s figure skating saga and the aftermath of almost everyone crying: one for joy, the youngest crumpled in anguish, another with mascara-tracks running down her cheeks and her eyes blazing, but the young Gold Medal Champion standing alone, stoic, probably in shock, but calm. Her perseverance and grace and that of Nathan Chen and so many more inspired me.

Perseverance: one of the best stories to come from the Olympic Games.

Finally, I want this last post of the week to remain in your mind as a thank note to every person who has encouraged me by leaving a comment (or, yes, liking a post 😎), or just taking the time to read my posts.

Sometimes we don’t even fully grasp the importance of support and encouragement, how far it can take another person.

Ciao for now. I’ll be back in March.