It took the better part of two summers, and seven dump trailers full of dirt to finish the yard around my house. Our family is exhausted, even our youngest, from the many trips it took to wheel-barrow the hand-shoveled soil around.

Each load ended with us being tired beyond belief, but this time it’s different. We are finished. Not one more shovel-full needed. No more cramped fingers straining to lift the wheel barrow while pushing it along. It’s done.

IT’S DONE!

That realization has made all the difference. Yes, it was backbreaking work, but I’ll never have to do it again. It’s lessened the pain my body feels to almost nothing.

I felt the same when I finally finished editing WORTH?, my debut novel coming out to the public later this year. The process wasn’t as physically strenuous as moving dirt, but there were mental struggles heaped on me to write and re-write, my editor demanding perfection. But it too is finished. Yes, there’s still a waiting game while reviewers send in their opinions of my novel, but I take comfort in knowing WORTH is as polished as I could possibly make it.