I was going to write Y is for You as without you, while I would still write, life wouldn’t be the same. You, dear reader, keep me on track, motivated and aiming to please with my writing. You are the reason I publish and not just write, you are the reason I hire cover artists and editors and invest the cost of publishing a paperback. You are the reason for my blogs, and empty closets, the reason I look at past stories and post them on Patreon or fine tune them for an ebook. You, dear reader, are like the GPS to my road trip, guiding me to my destination and rerouting if I go off course.
Instead of going on and on about You I changed my Y to Yesterday for the A to Z Challenge. The common thing to say is why put off for tomorrow what you can do today and yet I did that very thing yesterday. Usually I prepare my blog posts the night before and, admittedly, forgot yesterday and then was too tired to bother. So I did put off what I could have done yesterday to do today. What I don’t feel is regret in this instance for doing that.
I enjoyed yesterday; the sun was out, the temperatures were gorgeous and I went for a walk. While I enjoy writing, when the sun is out and the warmth is there I feel better taking advantage of those wonderful days by being outside.
They say you shouldn’t have any regrets, that you shouldn’t look back on what you did or didn’t do yesterday and be upset about it but I do admit to having regrets on occasion. I try not to hold on to those regrets or dwell in them but there are some that I feel hold me down. Like why didn’t I enter that contest, why didn’t I market a bit more or pitch that story to a publisher. Where would I be if I took left instead of right? Or art instead of write? (Trust me, art is really not a feasible option for my talent.)
The only thing I can do with yesterday is keep it in my memories and help it shape my today. That’s why, before anything else this morning (even breakfast!) I wrote this post so as not to miss out on one day of this challenge.
Thanks for reading,
Sarah Butland
author of Life Imitated, Blood Day and more!