Score: Universe 1, Mandy 0

Over the last several months, I struggled with two health issues in addition to, you know, LIFE. All along I had a conversation with the Universe that went something like this:

UNIVERSE:  Slow down.

ME: Too busy.

UNIVERSE: I mean it. Slow down.

ME: Uh-uh. Too much work and stuff…you know, important stuff.

UNIVERSE: You’ll regret it later.

ME: Whatever! Shut up and leave me alone!

So, I continued with work and more work. Found an agent and signed with her. Finished up edits to the YA book that hooked said agent. Started writing next book. Struggled with (ignored) health issues while working, working, working.

Finally, my bum shoulder (health issue #1) screamed out to be heard. After physical therapy, etc., the surgeon suggested ‘minor’ surgery to shave off a bit of acromion bone to stop the impingement. Minor surgery ended up being anything but. I woke up in recovery to find they’d clipped off part of my bicep and reattached the bicep to bone. Arm has been in sling for five weeks now, and was almost completely immobile the first four of those weeks.  I still have weeks of physical therapy to regain function.

In fact, most of this post is being typed with my left hand (non-dominant) only.

These past few weeks have been some of the hardest in my life. The Universe told me to slow down.  I’m not only slowed down, I’m at a standstill. And it’s uncomfortable. But probably the biggest blessing in my life. I have had unprecedented amounts of time to re-prioritize, to think through what I really want from life and work. One thing has really stood out: because I haven’t been able to type, I haven’t been able to work on my book. And I miss writing. A lot. And I regret all those months I whined about writer’s block and not having time, etc. I had time. I just didn’t take advantage of it.

Thank you, Dr. Furry… for removing part of my bicep and replacing it with perspective.