The Worst is Over

Coffee in the Austin skyline mug, "Song For a Deckhand's Daughter" by James McMurtry on iTunes. I love the unintentional symmetry (JmcM lives in Austin.) The last seven days were the longest, hardest, most constantly stress- and adrenaline-filled of any that I can remember. Ever. But I am now caught up.

I sent the final copy edits of the book through the ether to my copy editor who incorporated my changes into her version and handed the final (final! final! final!) off to the proof reader. I ship four gallery orders today and one tomorrow when the last piece comes back from being drilled. I crate and ship (if I get paid) a client's order today and ship an order to another artist who incorporates my glass into his metal work. Finally I overnight the last two projects to the publisher in final form for the beauty shots. Yesterday I met with my accountant and got all the business financial papers done and accounts (personal and business) balanced for the first time in almost a year. Yep. Another year where I made so little that we get a refund. The bad news / good news scenario.

Today I would love to do nothing more than go back to bed and sleep for a couple of hours. Then I would get up, pull on something comfy and pad downstairs to the sky chair on the front porch where I would curl up and read a trashy book or two until it was time to go get Jessie from school. It's spring here in Atlanta, and it's supposed to be 74 degrees today. The yellow dogwood is blooming in my front yard. The Japanese magnolias show shy flowers peeking around bare branches, and the star magnolias wave their blowsy blossoms in the light breeze like bloomers at a sailor. It is the best time of year in the south. In another week or so the weeping cherries will be in full show and my heart will almost burst from the beauty.

Now back to earth. I can neither go back to bed nor take the day off, but if I get my firing schedule for the week done, apologetic letters out to everyone for the late shipments, orders shipped and tracking numbers sent, and pieces delivered to be drilled, I *might* be able to squeeze in an hour (two?) in the sky chair late this afternoon. And it doesn't get better than that!