Week One of school has passed.  For the first time in fifteen years, I was not there.

“Do you miss it?  Even a twinge of regret or sorrow?  How did you feel when the first day of school commenced without you?  Even a little sad?”

I loved my tenure in the classroom.  The first day of school was always my second favorite day of the year.  New beginnings.  New students to learn.  An opportunity to be better.  And then there was my #1 favorite day–the last day of the year when I walked out of the building for summer break.  Right now I’m tapping in to that summer break feeling . . . continually.  Except . . . I’m busier than ever.

My initial writers conference is behind me and I didn’t die or pee my pants.  Might I say that if I had known what I was getting into, I might not have shown.  I suffered my first meltdown on Wednesday before I was to report to the Alumni Center at Ball State University, 8:15 Thursday morning.  I watched the Twitter feed, organized my schedule, and freaked out.  Convinced that participants would be half my age, fast talkers and thinkers, published, and own an established “platform,” I thought, “What the hell am I doing?” Deflated.

Platform equals a writer’s saleability–number of Twitter followers, facebook friends, Instagram likes, the 21st Century Curriculum Vitae.  The folks who will automatically buy her book upon publication.  I boast 9 Twitter followers and my Instagram account recently jumped to double digits.  I have this blog and well . . . if you read my earlier post, you know my publishing score card.

Conclusion:  writers are quite similar to teachers. Kind, caring people who have a desire to help others succeed.  They have a desire to educate, share what they know.  I attended approximately 25 hours of workshops, panel discussions, and presentations by successful, intuitive, agents, authors, bloggers, and professors.   I endured a 3-minute pitch session to a literary agent and another session in which an agent told me my query letter was “not serving me.”  Mostly, I learned how much I have yet to learn.  I came away with some great new friends, a few business contacts, and a wealth of reality: this ain’t gonna be easy!  But I can do it and I will.

I spent the three days following the writers conference sitting at my desk, nose in computer and I loved it!

I subscribe to my numerologist’s definition of work: What you’re doing when you’d really rather be doing something else. I’m doing what I love and it does not feel one iota like work!   And about school . . . do I miss it?  Too busy.  Best busy ever!