My Day

Some of you who know me know this and most of you don't...I'm almost done drafting my first book. Of course, saying "first book" implies there will be more and frankly, I don't know if there will even be one, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. So, for the past year, I spend most every evening and many mornings writing, rewriting, editting and plotting. And when I'm not physically in the act of writing, I'm often day dreaming about my characters, their lives and their problems.

Today the writing process took me to a very humbling place. I met with the local police chaplain. In our city, he's the person who delivers tragic news to families who've lost loved ones. He figures he's notified over 70 families of an unexpected loss. I didn't feel fit to sit across from this man and ask him questions, but given the honesty in the answers he gave me, I'm thinking not a lot of people ask him about his job, which incidently is voluntary.

Thankfully, I've never received such a notification, so many of my questions were logistical and yet, I could barely contain my emotions listening to him. The depth of the pain he regularly bears witness to is staggering. I'm still processing the information he gave me. Still absorbing the few experiences he shared and he's lived every one of them and many, many more.

I don't know if I'll be able to work much on my book tonight, I'm frankly a little drained. But I do know this: If I ever have to receive such horrible news, I'm comforted by the fact a man of his integrity and compassion would deliver it.