Rejection

A couple of months ago my oldest son tried out for his travel hockey team.  He's been playing travel for the past three seasons.  This one threw him a curve he wasn't expecting.  Instead of making the"A" team that he wanted to, he made the "B" team.  B is for better!  Well, he wasn't buying it, especially since his buddy made the first team without him.  Life lesson?  Of course, but not necessarily one that he needed to learn a few weeks shy of his eleventh birthday.

As a parent, you want to shield you child and protect him from life disappointments, especially rejection.
My words of inspiration, "Work harder, have an awesome season and show that coach he made a huge mistake by not picking you!"  Still not sure if he took those words to heart though I suppose time will tell.

Rejection is a part of life I told him, every facet, and you can't give up when you hit an obstacle.  These words would come back to haunt me recently after a story that I worked long and hard  on was passed over.  I was lamenting to my husband about this when my son reminded me of what I had told him after try-outs.  At least he was listening and I should have been as well.

Writing is a personal journey.  In a way a novel or a story is a piece of yourself and it takes a great deal of courage to put it out there for people to read.  However, when you do that, you need to prepare yourself for the inevitable criticism and rejection that comes along with it.  In a way, I suppose it is like trying out for a team.  You put your heart and soul into it and then someone tells you that it wasn't good enough.  It's hard to take unless you put it in perspective. 

About two years ago, I put away my pen, paper, and imagination.  I'd grown tired of the rejection.  Not sure where exactly along the road I had become a quitter.  An uneasy feeling plagued me during that time and it took me awhile to realize what that was.  Writing isn't just a career that I would like to have.  It is a passion and one which is a vital part of my life.  Maybe I will never have that thing you do moment of seeing my book on a store shelf or maybe I will.  One thing I do know is that I will listen to the words I told my son as I dried his tears.  They work whether you're shooting a puck or submitting a story.