Keep Moving Forward

I love movies, but rarely blog about them. I could blog movie reviews all day long and tell you what I liked and disliked about them, but the movie I watched last night deserves commenting on.

I had just come home from my aunt and uncle's, where I spent the weekend. Hubby and I decided to relax with a movie and a pizza, because it had been an eventful and tiring weekend. We watched Meet the Robinsons.

The movie had its good moments and it's "let's get this on with it" moments, but the overall theme of the movie is what touched me. Lately, I've been in a bad place mentally. Writing can be such a stressful and lonely occupation. Challenging. Frustrating. Demanding. Add in an exhausting full time job, and you have days when you just want to give up. It's easy to follow your negative stream of consciousness when self-doubt reins stronger than the joy of writing.

My aunt must have known the frustration I was feeling, because she said something I know, but something I needed to hear from someone who loves me for me (besides my husband...because sometimes, well, I think he's just trying to make me feel better). "Not many people get to realize their dreams," she said. "You have, and you should be proud of that." Other things were said about my job, but you get the point.

Back to the movie, Meet the Robinsons...about a kid who is ready to give up on his dreams until he sees the future he'll have if he "Keeps Moving Forward" (the mantra of the movie). Of course, he has the opportunity to fix the bad things that happen and everything ends up happily ever after.

We don't have the opportunity to see our future, but can you see how many opportunities we have to throw our future away? What if the next rejection kills my hopes and I never pick up a pen again? What if I let my job stress overwhelm me so much that I decide writing isn't a future I am able to pursue?

What if J.K. Rowling stopped at her third Harry Potter book?

If you give up your dreams, you give up a part of yourself. Sure, you'll have a different future, but think of the future Lewis would have had in Meet The Robinsons as opposed to the one he did have, because he KEPT MOVING FORWARD!

I believe that God sometimes uses people and things to tell us something, and while part of me wonders why He would support my dream of writing romantic suspense (I'm not out saving the world), the other part of me realizes the good that can come of it. I grew up reading romance, and each book I've read, each author, has touched me deeply, though I never knew and probably will never know them personally. My mom, who would have been the biggest support post of all, is no longer here to pursue her dreams, but I know she would offer wisdom if she could. So with that in mind, I'm ready to KEEP MOVING FORWARD!


On another note...I wanted to wish our veterans a HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY. I wish I could personally thank each and every one of them for what they've done for our country.

Recently, I did some research on the Vietnam War. I just completed a novella targeting the Vietnam era (patiently waiting to hear back from my publisher) and how it affected the relationship between a man and a woman, and I bought a couple of books from true Vietnam vets who spoke of their experiences. While all war is catastrophic and changes the lives of many, I learned how Vietnam was different. Those men went to a foreign country with little training and came back after a year with little to no support. They didn't have a fanfare waiting for them, and sometimes their families didn't even recognize them. They were supposed to get a job or go back to work with no debriefing when they returned home. It was hard to know who their enemy was, even after they returned home.

Many of them experienced outbursts of rage and still have nightmares to this day. They were trained to kill, dehumanize, and hate, then come back home and return to a normal life.

What is normal? To them, everything had changed and they'd miss out on what should have been the most important part of their life. Many of them right out of high school and most of them young, they saw more death and destruction than most people could possibly imagine, and many of them never came home. Most people gave up believing in the war and many didn't believe in or support the soldiers anymore.

No matter how you feel about war, if you know a Vet, or anyone who is in the military, give them a hug and shout out your appreciation. We all know what they do isn't easy, but I hope they know how much we love and appreciate them.