Last week was going swimmingly.

My Bookshop.org shop got approved.

My husband’s newest coloring book got released and will hopefully arrive in time for the festival next month.

And I got good news back from the doctors.

And then Thursday at 5 in the morning, my 15lb Ragdoll Tamakitty decided it would be a “brilliant” idea to jump on my face while I was sleeping.

And by jump on my face, I mean scratched it, bruised my ocular bone, my nose, and strained my eye muscle.

Which meant a trip to urgent care (in the next county over) to make sure he hadn’t actually scratched the eye too.

And of course it was my bad eye. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Fortunately, it turned out he hadn’t scratched my eye.

Unfortunately, it also meant I had to skip dance class.

And limit my screen time for a few days to rest my left eye muscle.

Which brings me to…

Not everything we set out to do goes exactly as planned.

And we can treat it as the end of the world. Throw our hands up in the air and give up.

Or we can be kind to ourselves, step back, and reassess.

I could have had a meltdown that my email to you is going out today instead of last week.

Or that I missed dance class again.

Or that my creative projects keep getting delayed due to health reasons.

Or…​
I could step back and thank the universe I didn’t end up like Nick Fury. (No joke, I’ve already had to wear an eye patch 3 times in my life.)

Or that I didn’t lose so much more…

Maybe instead I’ll think about last week like a side quest.

Because of my cat’s less-than-graceful landing, I got to spend more time with my little nieces, my brother, and my dad. A side quest to the park with my family that would have never happened without me taking that co-dependent ball of paws and claws to the face.

So as this month comes to a close and we head into September, I want you to remember this, Reader: When the universe throws you a rockslide or a cat to the face, take a deep breath, collect yourself, and just call it a side quest.

Well, Reader, until next time, this is your friendly neighborhood storytelling Kat wishing you a wonderfully creative week.

Your cohort in storytelling,

Kat Vancil

🐱

PS 👉 If you’re a fan of adult coloring books, Dungeon Crawler Carl, or dragons, then check out my husband Aleric’s series of Color Your Own Adventure books!

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Eric Rucker I'm a author, entrepreneur, and writer who loves to talk about writing & storytelling, publishing, and fiction. Subscribe to my newsletter. Subscribe​

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