I Hope You Dance -- Hope Chronicles 50

I've never been much of a dancer. But the theme song for me at She Speaks was Lee Ann Womak's I Hope You Dance. The applicable words will be in centered in color. Consider them the background music to this post!

I hope you always keep your sense of wonder
May you get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger

Here's my confession: I've never been much of a makeup person. Seriously, at 13 my mother was more interested in me wearing make up than I was. I've had occasional spurts where I've worn it, but I've never understood mascara. Maybe it's that I have dark hair and my lashes are naturally dark. (Which is convenient because I might look odd if they were red or blond or something. Things just wouldn't match!)

May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love never leave you empty handed

But the weekend before She Speaks I talked to someone about makeup and all that. The talk included mascara. Since she gave me little sample things of it, I decided to try it out. That Sunday I wore it to church along with some purple eye shadow. A dear friend asked me what had happened to my eye. The poor guy thought I had endured some injury. So, I was a bit wary.

When I dressed for my Friday appointments, I used the purple eye shadow and mascara again. I was careful to check with my roommates that it looked okay . . . .

My first appointment went okay. They told me to email my proposal. Smile. Big smiles. Big wash of confidence leading into my second appointment.

Let's just say, that one didn't go as well. At first I thought it was going fine. But maybe I got too chatty because in the end they didn't want to take it and didn't want it emailed.

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens

I managed to keep it together on the way out the door. But then I got teary. However, the thought of actually crying and making the mascara run helped me keep it together. I most definitely did not want to look like a raccoon when I finally met all my bloggy friends in person in just an hour or so.

So, the moral of the story is that if you are feeling weepy wear mascara to help keep the tears under control....

While that is the end of the mascara bit, it is not the end of the story. I had arrived the night before and Melissa Taylor had told me I could have a third appointment if I wanted it because some people had canceled. She thought I should grab another one. I had flown all the way there, so I wasn't about to let that opportunity slip by. That one was scheduled for Saturday.

Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance
When you get the chance to sit it out or dance
I hope dance. I hope you dance. I hope you dance.

So, here I am on Friday not wanting my mascara to run and I got to the blogger reception. Yes, that was pure fun! I mentioned to Lysa that my second appointment had not gone well but that I was keeping it "in perspective." Her response was that she thought such and such publisher still had openings and I needed to go check.

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance.

Since I'm very obedient, I marched back up the stairs -- blinking hard because of the nerves and fears and trying to keep the tears back. I had to wait to talk to the gal in charge up there. She kept saying, "I'll be right with you." But keeping publishers and chatty women on schedule was a bit dizzying. I chatted a bit with Glynnis and then actually the nerves got the best of me. I left.

Living might mean taking chances but they’re worth taking
Loving might be a mistake but it’s worth taking
Don’t let some hell bent heart leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out reconsider

I walked back down to the reception, but I ran into someone else from P31. They told me I should go back. So, I trotted back up the stairs. I finally got to talk to the gal in charge. We scheduled an appointment for Saturday at 6:15 PM. I was walking back down the stairs when she called after me. "Amy, she wants to meet with you NOW." Apparently, her appointment hadn't shown and there were 8 minutes left in the slot. There's not much you can say about your 53 page baby in 8 minutes, but I must have said something right. I was told to email it to her!

Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance

I felt much more coherent on Saturday. I talked really fast because even 15 minutes wasn't feeling like enough. But, I was told to email it!

And then Sunday rolled around. I was meandering through the breakfast area when I was stopped by publisher number 2. She had changed her mind and had thought about it since Thursday. Would I email it to her?

When you get the chance to sit it out or dance

I hope dance. I hope you dance. I hope you dance.

Can you hear the music? It's my prayer for you as well.