Collections

I tend to be something of a collector. Nothing is worth much in any of my collections, but I enjoy them all the same. For example, cookbooks. Every so often I have to go through my cupboard and get rid of a few because the space is too full. Funny thing though, I don't cook all that much. My intentions are good, but then something else comes up to hold my attention and I don't think about meals until the last minute. By that time, I end up throwing together one of the old standbys and not using a cookbook at all. Sometimes I decide to be more organized and go through cookbooks, reading them from cover to cover, looking for the perfect recipes to tempt my family. By the time grocery day comes, my good intentions disappear along with the list I made and we are back to the family favorites again. And yet, I love to read cook books.

Embroidery/sewing patterns and books are another thing I collect. I love to sit and look at as I imagine all the beautiful things I can make to beautify my home or give as gifts. Someday I'll get more of them done, but for now I just dream of the day when I can get to them. (I'm beginning to see a pattern here - both collections are books.)

This year I want to start a new collection. I've set a goal to submit my writing more often, and like all writers, I expect to get my fair share of rejections. In years past, I've submitted my work, but I've never saved the rejections. Now I will consider a collection of rejections as a badge of honor showing how much I've been working.

And then there is one collection I plan to get rid of. Every time I read one of my manuscripts, I find a wonderful array of grammar mistakes, over-used words, adverbs, and all those other mistakes that make writing weak. I'm slowly weeding out the offenders and hope to whittle that collection down to nothing at all. That's one collection I'll be glad to get rid of. Of all my collections, this one I'd be glad to see disappear.