Hey friends, I am so bummed. My SSL (secure sockets layer) certificate expired on my blog yesterday and I was unable to write a post for #write28days. Now I am worried that I can’t legitimately continue to participate. Waaaa!! What say you? Can I go one extra day on the tail end in order to make up for the day I lost yesterday? Maybe I will ask Anita, the creator of #write28days.
This is the error message I began getting when I tried to login to the admin side of my blog or even view the blog as a visitor:
Your connection is not private. Attackers might be trying to steal your information from onceuponatimehappilyeverafter.com (for example, passwords, messages, or credit cards). Learn more
NET::ERR_CERT_DATE_INVALID.
Uhhh, scary!!
Seeking HELP
On Etsy, I contacted the tech guy who has helped me with issues in the past. But he is in Great Britain and doesn’t always respond right away. I went to bed worried about my upcoming Ageless Style post on Friday, Thankful Thursday and Write 28.
Woke up this morning and decided to take matters into my own hands!! Girl power!! I signed into my web hosting site, went to my cPanel and fiddled around until I found a temporary repair for extending my SSL certificate. Then contacted tech support at Web Hosting Hub to find a long-term fix. Which turned out to be as simple as purchasing an updated certificate for $99.00. And now all is well.
Except for the day I lost for #write28days. Just wanted to explain what happened to me in case anyone was ‘tracking’ as PC would say.
Now on to today’s post…
Finding Time to Write
As I have shared before, someone gifted me the hope*writers “Time to Write” bundle. If that was you, thank you so much. Thank you, thank you!! Earlier this week, I began the course. Author Gary Morland gave the first lesson. Boy, oh, boy did it speak to me. Like it was written just for Leslie Clingan.
Here’s just a brief summary of this first lesson.
- Life is the thing getting in the way of my writing but it is also the very thing that contributes to me having something to write about and say in the first place. THAT IS HUGE!!
- All the things that get in the way of writing: the things happening in my life now, the things that I worry about, am bothered by, get discouraged over are all things that are delaying my writing now. But they will also support the writing I will do later. The crazy might not be what I will write about but the craziness of LIFE will influence what I write.
- Depth comes from knowing and experiencing life: the lessons, the successes, and failures all add depth to my life, my spirit, personality and eventually, my writing. It takes time, it takes a life lived to have wisdom and something of value to say.
Listen to LIFE
Instead of viewing LIFE as getting in the way of my writing, I need to view LIFE as something to learn from. Which is the way I look at most experiences in life. There are some seasons of life designed to teach me and give me something to say. Because LIFE just won’t quit coming sometimes, I need to give myself grace. And accept that the last thing I feel like I have time to do is to write.
But just maybe when life is trying to teach me something, I need to stop for a moment, take a breath and listen. Rather than wishing it – the turmoil, the crazy would let up for a minute, maybe I need to let LIFE write on me. And then I can take those lessons, those experiences and write about them.
Morland suggests hopeful writers invest time in people and themselves. Which is what I am doing, I guess, when I go over the mountain to help with the girls, fly to Lexington to care for Mom, travel to Ft. Worth for Declan’s birth-day, read with Cady on Facetime, walk the outlet mall after church with PC. The busy, crazy seasons are talking to us, saying things to us. Those obstacles aren’t in the way of life but are the way to living life and writing about it.
LIFE Never Stops Being Hard
When this season ends the next one will be hard, too. All of these experiences are making me the person I am supposed to be. So that I can say what I am supposed to say. In my writing. If I am waiting for life to become the bowl of ice cream Lisa Frank portrays it as, I may be waiting a real long time.
[source]
This season is hard. Last season was hard. And next season will be hard, too. Still, I wouldn’t mind a day or two’s reprieve. Just sayin’.
Laura Ingalls Wilder
When I was a young mother, I used to say that someday I would write. Someday I would write a children’s book. Would write that book when the girls’ were older (they are now 35 and 37 years old). When I didn’t have to work summer school any longer (last worked summer school about 15 years ago). Would finally write, as soon as LIFE settled down.
Well, now I realize LIFE isn’t going to settle down. And it is just giving me lots of great material to write about. Like the day our car caught on fire. Wasn’t much fun when it was happening but would make a pretty good tale now!!
I remember hearing about successful children’s authors who started writing late in life. I thought Beverly Cleary was one but she got started younger than I thought. Laura Ingalls Wilder, however, didn’t write her first book, Little House in the Big Woods until she was 65 years-old.
That means I have 14 months to get my book written and published. I will be 65 in 04.2023. And that’s why I am finding time to write…right now.
10 “Let instruction and knowledge
mean more to you
than silver
or the finest gold.
11 Wisdom is worth much more
than precious jewels
or anything else you desire.”
Your Turn
How do you find time, make time to do the things you like and want to do? Your hobbies. Family activities. Exercise. Would appreciate any suggestions you can offer. In the meantime, I continuing to try to go with the flow. To let go, and let LIFE.
Off to bed. Lots of blog reading and writing on the docket for tomorrow. Cleaning the downstairs. And ironing. Always ironing.
Hugs and kisses,
Deb
We will excuse you that missing day – you certainly did all you could not to miss it, just tack that day onto the end!
You certainly have a lot of tales to tell so shut yourself in a room for one hour without your phone, turn on some music and start that first chapter. You definitely deserve at the very least one hour for you, and you alone, at the very least!
Dara
I haven’t heard of that happening on a personal website – good job fixing it! I love that Laura Ingalls Wilder didn’t write her first book till 65 and what an inspiration! You can do it!
Retirement Reflections
Hi, Leslie – I agree with Deb — you can definitely add a day onto the end of this posting series — no problem at all! As to your concluding question, I have learned to pay myself first. That means that what I really want to do, I do first thing in the morning before anything else — even if it is just for 10 – 20 minutes (sometimes I am lucky and it is much longer). This may not work for everyone, but it works well for me — and my husband is totally on board with this routine!