I’m Late on So Many Things…. And it’s Okay

I feel like that little white rabbit of Alice fame. I feel like I’m late for everything. Ok, to be fair, I am not late for everything. Just a few things. But of course, they’re eating away at me. I’m late with reviews. For a few authors. On a few ARCs. And I feel terrible about it. Because I made that commitment and I feel like I’ve completely failed at it. But I am giving myself some grace here. I reached out to the authors and their PAs. I apologized.  I promised to do better. And I am still going to write those reviews this weekend and get them all posted. Because I love these books and these authors. And I know how a review can help them in so many ways.

Why am I late? Because life sometimes has different plans. Because last weekend was the first ever Charm City Romanticon (CCR) and I spent countless hours leading up to it doing prep work. And stressing. And doing more prep work. And more stressing. And then I allowed myself to fall headfirst into the event itself. I did very little reading for four days straight. It was weird. But it was a result of being surrounded by amazing bookish people, and falling into bed for a few hours of restorative sleep when I wasn’t.

So now life has resumed. I’m back home on my couch. I’m catching up.  And in between catching up on reading new ARCs and writing reviews for the ones I’ve already read, I’m jumping into the CCR group and reliving the event through everyone’s posts.  And I’ve been crying a lot—all happy tears—and that makes it hard to type. 

In between the tears and the apologies and the frantic typing, I’ve been giving myself time to breathe. To recognize my limits. To understand that I haven’t failed myself or the authors. That a late but well written review of a book I took the time to read is still better than a hastily penned review of a book I skimmed to meet a deadline. Because if anyone knows the chaos a deadline can cause, and the relief of being granted an extension (by yourself or someone else), it’s an author. So, if you’re one of them (Claire Wilder, Josie Watts/Janice Whiteaker, Alexandra Hale, Leigh Lennon, Kayley Loring & Connor Crais), thank you for your understanding. Thank you for still trusting me to make good on my word. And thank you for continuing to feed me such amazing books to devour.

And yes, dear reader, you probably noticed this blog is late, too. And that’s okay. Because, hell, it’s my blog. I make the rules here. And this week, Thursday is the new Monday. It’s short, maybe not so sweet, but it’s real.  And it comes with a question (or three):  When is the last time you gave yourself grace for missing a deadline? And who gave you more flack about it—you or the person who imposed the deadline? Are you a give grace to others type of person or are you a deadline stickler? And does the purpose of the deadline change your reaction?

Ok, that was too many questions. But please share your thoughts with me. On this blog, or anything. 

Happy Reading Bookwyrms!