Getting into the Writing Groove
As I type this, I’m hoping the ceiling above me doesn’t come crashing down. Boom-da-da-boom!
There are two girls in the room above, my daughters, who are dancing a jig. An Irish step dance. It’s highly addictive and they’ve been at it for hours.
I think they’ve finally found their groove.
Last week they attended Irish Dancing Camp, sponsored by a woman who is a native of Dublin, Ireland. She moved to our hometown a few years ago and started a dancing school.
We had seen the Irish dancers perform on several occasions, but my girls had never been interested — until I signed them up for the camp. Something clicked while they spent several hours a day learning Gaelic, baking Irish soda bread and scones, painting glittery Claddaugh rings on t-shirts, and sewing a shamrock.
In between all the crafts and food, the dance instructor taught them a simple step-dance routine, which they practiced over and over — and performed on stage for the parents the last day of camp.
Now they won’t stop dancing. They dance in the driveway, in the kitchen, all over the den, into my bedroom at night. They’re on a first-name basis with the “Riverdance” troop, the music of which is constantly playing in the background.
They even danced at the playground last night. And like I wrote earlier, they’re dancing right now directly above me.
They’ve found their groove — and are simply in love with everything Irish! Erin go braugh, they say to me. Long live Ireland! We’ve sipped green Kool-Aid, crunched lime-green popsicles, and we’re off to the store this afternoon to buy ingredients to make our very own Irish soda bread.
Their dancing joy makes me wonder about my writing career. When will I ever get into my groove? Will there ever be a point where I KNOW I’m writing what God wants me to write? When the contracts are coming and I’m penning prose that will help pay our bills AND reach the right markets?
I’m not there yet. I know once I find my groove, I’ll focus all of my energies toward the project God has prepared me for since the beginning of time. I’m taking a break from blogging and book reviewing this summer to give myself a chance to breathe … to pray … and to search for the right music.
It will come, of that I’m sure. And then my fingers will fly — just like my daughters are flying around their bedroom right now stepping, pointing and kicking.
For now, I’ll enjoy the sweet notes around me. Work on my craft. Be a mom. And one day, in God’s timing, I’ll know it’s time for me to get into my groove.
And dance.
