What Disappointment Teaches Us

" You should blog today." I just got that text from my blog coach(daughter).It seems I blog too much or not enough. I guess it really depends on what is on my mind and how anxious I am to write about it. So what is on my mind this morning to find its way to a blog entry and a title for that entry? Disappointment was the first thing that came to mind. In late August and early fall I set out to apply or submit to several things. I applied for two grants, submitted a manuscript to a contest and applied for a Writer in Residency. All four endeavors have met with disappointment. On three counts I messed up in one way or another, some just stupid and one a mistaken e-mail address. In the case of the opportunity to spend three months as Writer in Residence at Berton House in Dawson I was one of 73 authors to apply and I was just not chosen this time. So what does disappointment teach us? Sometimes it teaches us to fill out forms more carefully and to pay closer attention to all the requirements. Sometimes it teaches us to ask for an e-mail to verify something important was received. Sometimes it just teaches us to keep trying. That is probably the most important lesson disappointment brings. I sent The Year Mrs. Montague Cried to six publishers before receiving a request for the entire manuscript and the eventual contract that saw it published in 2011 and winning the Ann Connor Brimer Award for Excellence in Children's Literature in 2012. Life's disappointments come in all descriptions and for all kinds of reasons. Life's blessings do as well. We learn from every failure and grow with every challenge. Today I send along seven copies of The Year Mrs. Montague Cried to Hampton High School and am thankful to see it finding its way to more readers.