Just Clicked on "Send"

Well...it's done. For better or for worse, I did it. I think I wore myself out, and my family a little bit too, mining the past two days for writing hours that weren't really there for the taking. But the essay is finished.

I had to post a little shout-out here because I just feel so relieved that I accomplished this! Nothing may come of it -- in fact, probably won't (and I certainly won't count on it being accepted for publication) but I managed to finally pull together, shape and re-shape this essay that's been percolating in my head since December. That feels marvelous.

I liked the essay too. That in itself is a bit weird -- I often feel so numb by the end of a long writing session that I don't know how I feel about a piece when it's time to submit it somewhere. This time around I didn't feel that way. I enjoyed the writing (even though I wish I'd done it in a more balanced fashion instead of having to really push here at the end) and I think I said what I wanted to say.

And if nothing else, I gained a lovely copy of The Oxford Illustrated Jane Austen volume of Pride and Prejudice, Chapman's third edition published by Oxford University Press, a quality hardback copy with a smooth and richly colored dust jacket. Our place is filled with books, but they're almost always books we can pick up on the cheap at library sales and used bookstores. When I went on my first Austen reading frenzy several years ago, I bought just about all my copies of her books in used paperbacks from our favorite used bookstore Half-Price Books. In fact, I blush to say it, but I'm pretty sure the order in which I read Austen's books was at least somewhat determined by what I could find used and when.

So splurging on a beautiful copy of a book I love so much feels like a real treat. I will give it a place of honor on my bookshelves, and let it always remind me of the essay I enjoyed writing this week.

And hey, I've now officially met one of my writing goals for the first quarter of 2007! I think I deserve to go to bed now....!