Poop On My New Book

For me, the New Year always offers a sense of hope and excitement. Some say it’s just another day, and that it is, but whether it is just a mental state, or an energetic vibration from collective consciousness, there’s something unique about this time of year. I’m tempted to offer some inspirational advice about resolutions/motivations, but instead let me share a situation that my new year has brought and why it makes me chuckle… and feel strangely hopeful! Poop on my new book (literally).

Poop on My New Book

After a 2000-mile holiday road trip with my boyfriend, his 2 children, my 13 year-old dog, a gerbel-rodent-thingy and a car full of gifts, I returned home with hope of starting the new year with a refreshed perspective. I just needed a few minutes to “unwind”. I brought 1 suitcase and a bag of gifts up the stairs and within seconds my Nicaraguan neighbor said, “Leah, we have some water problems in the basement, you may want to check on your stuff.” Well, my stuff includes the typical storage stuff…furniture, off-season clothes, tools, etc. But as any self-published author can attest, most of the “stuff” in my basement is boxes of books. Immediately I went to the basement and saw inches of water, and white shredded paper. It looked like tissue. Jim came down, looked around. Then there was a flush and a gurgle. Before our very eyes, our neighbor’s toilet emptied into the basement. This was not pretty. A stranger’s turd lying next to your golf clubs is an unthinkable anomaly. I felt like I was living in a 3rd world country. But then again, would I have golf clubs? Anyway, most of the boxes of books were stacked on top of one another, but indeed, many of the bottom boxes were in the line of fire. With road weary legs and back, we began plodding through the poop to save the books. We had to move all of the boxes, one by one, unload the books, wipe the books (no pun intended) re-pack and re-locate. Most were saved (yes, it’s safe to order one!) some were soiled and then trashed, along with my boots and my socks.

After a few hours and all was safe, I laughed. It was too late to cry. I wondered why my books got pooped on? I found some humor in thinking that it was the world’s way of inviting me to treat my books with the greatest respect and it showed me how important my work is…if only to myself. With the books now on higher ground, they’ll never be pooped on again.

My fortune for you for 2008: May all that you respect in your life be kept in high regard and on high ground. When you follow this advice, your precious gifts will not get pooped on!

Life’s a Gift…Open It!