On Potential

"…no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till." --Ralph Waldo Emerson

Recently, I went on a wild goose chase for the myriad documents required to apply for a Real ID. This search led to many little organizational endeavors, including cleaning off our disaster of a bill rack, which had become less bill rack and more catch-all, quite literally overflowing with papers, many of which drooped over the edges like wilting flowers.

I found many things. Among them, billing statements dating back to 2022 (don’t judge me), manuals for various devices, my Virginia teaching license (now safely filed where it belongs), business cards (mostly for tree services and lawn care), photos wanting frames.

And three reference letters written for me for something called the Tribute Award when I was 16 or 17 years old (they have not been on the bill rack since I was 16 or 17; only since my parents gave them to me a few months ago).

I don’t remember what the Tribute Award was or if I got it. Probably a scholarship and probably not. I do remember each of the three people who wrote the reference letters.

I don’t remember thanking them.

Had I been the kind of teenager who wasn’t thoughtful enough to write thank-you cards to people who took time out of their busy schedules to sing my praises in honor of a goal I wanted to achieve? It seems maybe I was. And as a teacher who now writes dozens of these types of letters every year, I’m a little ashamed of that negligence.

My quest for the documents required for the Real ID also revealed another ugly character trait: disorganization, manifested in the number of mandatory documents I couldn’t readily produce, and for which I had to hunt.

Whereas I’ve always thought of myself as being on the thoughtful side (not the most thoughtful person, but on a spectrum, landing solidly on the thoughtful end, at least) and the organized side (I think most people would consider me enviably organized, actually), the Real ID process has revealed otherwise. I am apparently neither particularly thoughtful nor particularly organized.

All three people who wrote those letters lauded my leadership abilities, my can-do-stop-at-nothing attitude, the respect my peers had for me (of which I was completely unaware). Honestly, if I didn’t know myself, I would’ve been impressed with me. They were great letters. Exemplary, really.

The writers clearly saw a side of my identity that was not evident in my Real ID application, which requires a lot of documentation to prove I am who I say am.

But who is that, exactly? Yes, I can produce my full name, address, mortgage statements, billing statements, and with some effort, my birth certificate, proof of my social security number, etc. I can identify myself as a name, an address, a number for the purpose of acquiring a Real ID.

But what is my real identity, and how do I acquire it? Am I thoughtless or thoughtful? Embarrassingly disorganized or insanely organized? By whose standards? And how do I move my identity in the direction I want it to go? Those people who said nothing but kind words about me—have I let them down? Because whatever or whoever I am, I am after all only me. And I haven’t lived up to those letters.

But maybe I will yet.

What I’m Working On

My Debut Novel: An Expected End

Back in March, I was the guest author for a book club meeting organized by The Bookshelf, Irvington. Since then, the bookstore has evolved into a brick-and-mortar storefront called The Bookshelf on Church, and I cannot wait to visit sometime next week.

My Next Novel: Goodbye For Now

After roughly a week of satisfying, solid progress, I’ve stalled a bit. In part because of summer fun, in part because of a lack of motivation, and in part because of a lack of direction. There’s always a reason, it seems, not to write.

Depending on what my schedule pans out to be once school starts in August, I’m hoping to participate in a NotMFA workshop that begins in September. I find the structure and accountability a workshop provides very helpful. A workshop run by the same instructor, Matt Cricchio, was instrumental in my completion of An Expected End.

Finally, I met Argos, a handsome coon hound/husky mix my brother recently adopted. The significance of this, besides the fact that there’s an adorable new dog in the family and a little more space in an over-crowded shelter, is that long before my brother was even considering adopting a dog, I’d named the dog in Goodbye For Now Argos, for reasons that will hopefully make sense to you if I ever actually finish writing the manuscript so you can read it someday.

Outdoor Writing

After rescuing three turtles in a 24-hour period, I was inspired to start posting “Wildlife Wednesday” Instagram reels as part of my outdoors writer gig. The first one, last week, focused on turtles. Future reels will likely focus on birds, opossums, and bees. (Sidenote: My latest reading, on which I elaborate below and which I began after my post about turtles, I recently learned a couple better ways to assist snapping turtles found in dangerous situations.)

Recently, I sent my editor pitches for the 2025 editorial calendar for “Explore More,” to include potential articles about winter hiking, the Booker T. Washington National Monument, horseback riding at the beach, helping injured and/or orphaned wildlife, and winter whale watching.

Writing Community

Fellow dog lover and author Joyce Miller and I plan to share a table at the Hanover Book Expo in November. See the Literary Calendar below for more details on this free event.

Last week, my article “The Best Writing Advice I Never Took” appeared in the James River Writers Members Only Newsletter. I had a lot of fun writing this piece (once I finally figured out what to write about!) and was so happy to be invited to write it.

What I’m Reading

Believe it or not, between my last newsletter and this one, I managed to read an entire book: Six Walks In the Footsteps of Henry David Thoreau by Ben Shattuck, which I purchased at bbgb during the annual NEHS Independent Bookstore Day Bookstore Crawl back in April.

Apart from being wildly jealous of Shattuck’s obvious privilege, I very much enjoyed his book, which I read faster than I’ve read any book for a very, very long time. It’s introspective, thought-provoking, poetic, reflective, relatable, and serene, if not at times mildly condemning of humanity in a way with which I don’t disagree.

It’s reminiscent of a few other beloved titles: John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley: In Search of America, Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire, and Marjane Ambler’s Yellowstone Has Teeth. All have had a similar effect on me: a pensive, poetic, philosophical mood that lingers a while and bleeds into my writing.

The very next day, I started my current read, inspired by the three turtles I assisted recently, and the many that came before them: Sy Montgomery’s Of Time and Turtles: Mending the World, Shell by Shattered Shell, which by page 2 had more than validated my inclination to go out of my way to help a turtle in need. I picked up this gem at Sun Dial Books when I was in Chincoteague for an article back in April.

Links to My Latest

“Ponies & Pontoons: A magical day with Daisey’s Island Cruises,” a short piece about wild ponies on Assateague, appears in this month’s edition of Cooperative Living Magazine in my “Explore More” column.

Archie and The Littles

The Littles enjoy a paddle on the James River at Robious Landing.

Soda acts as lookout at Huguenot Flatwater on the James.

Nacho reveals his cartoonish side.

The Littles lounge on a rock at Pony Pasture.

Archie climbs around my hoodie while I get ready.

All fluffed up after a bath, Archie perches on my shoulder.

What I Saw Outside

A boat stacked with crab pots on the Potomac River

A bee naps in a flower on the banks of the James River.

A box turtle crosses a mountain bike trail at Pocahontas State Park.

Literary Calendar

September

• September 19, 2024 | 4:00pm-6:00pm | Beer Dogs with Jackie McCool at Richbrau Brewing

  Stay tuned for more details!

November

• November 9, 2024 | 9:00pm-3:00pm | Hanover Book Expo

  VFW Post 9808

  7168 Flag Lane

  Mechanicsville, VA 23111

  Free admission! Speakers, presentations, book sales, and free books!