My dog had puppies on Saturday. Eight gorgeous tiny Golden
Retrievers. I co-own Mina with a fantastic breeder and trainer of champion
agility Goldens. The labor and delivery was long, nine hours, but well worth
every minute. As each new puppy emerged we were delighted, and then they kept
coming. Our new six girls and two boys have already grown in the few days since
they arrived and are busy doing what new puppies do—nurse, poop, and squeal. Their eyes aren’t open
yet, but they still have a remarkable way of finding “Mom.”
Here were talk about writing, life, and what’s on our minds. Mina has been
at the breeder’s house for over two weeks. She’ll stay there about two more
months until the puppies are weaned. I visit. I miss her terribly. We are oddly
close. As you know, I travel a fair amount so I’m used to leaving the dogs with
Cindy, the breeder. But this is different. This is about babies, contact, and
relinquishing.
The connection to writing came to me last night as I was editing my
current project. As writers we are inventors. We conceive our work first from
nothing, a pure idea that really has no shape or form. We then incubate it. We
scribble words, make outlines, fuss about small things such as does our heroine
have blonde hair or brown. We research. We write which is a type of growth.
Then we edit.
As Mina pushed a puppy away from the edge of the box, I realized
that’s editing. She was setting limits and creating change. Her puppies will be heading to new homes in about seven to eight weeks.
Our work ends up in the hands of many in a timeframe slightly longer than that.
But, we have to let go. Mina watches carefully as I pick up each puppy. She
trusts me, yet still doesn’t take her eyes off the baby. When she had her first pup she tried to run away, the baby in her mouth. Her instinct was to hide. The little gal is fine, no harm, but still a message. We need to learn from
that. Let our readers pick up our work, enjoy it and give them the benefit of
the doubt that they will believe in us. Then we get back to work on the next
book. For Mina, getting back to the next litter won’t be for quite a while, but
that doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t be productive.
Best of luck in your writing and your reading. Cassy
8 comments:
Congrats on the puppies! How cute :-)
Ooh. Cassy, they are adorable. I want one! And the analogy to writing is great. We do have to let go sometimes, knowing we've done the bet we can and also appreciating that we can't please everyone.
It would kill me to be away from the puppies for two weeks!!
Congrats grandma. They are to adorable.
Awwwwww! They are so cute. I love puppies. We just got a boxer puppy. She was six weeks old when we got her, born on Valentine's Day. But your little guys (and gals) are so teeny. It reminds me of a blonde Cocker Spaniel I had several years ago. She gave birth and I was there to help her. It was the most amazing thing.
And it is a great analogy to writing. These manuscripts are our babies. We make and nurture them. We have to be strong mothers and sometimes dish out tough love. We have to trust people with them.
Hi, Kari. They are more than cute. I can't imagine what having 8 at once must be like. Actually she had 10 but we lost 2. All are doing well. AND, so is my writing- the whole point.
Liz: It's very hard to be away from them. But I have visitation rights! Mina is totally comfortable with Cindy- it's her second home and Cindy is wonderful. Yet, the house isn't the same without her. Again, letting go is the theme.
Lindsay: Thanks! They are beyond adorable. The list of folks who want them is long. Cindy is in charge of that job, picking the best places for them to land. It's great that we have so many wonderful people who would like to own one of these gorgeous babies.
Anita: Thanks for the comments about the analogy to writing. Every day I struggle with the letting go part. You are right on target.
Post a Comment