Get out of your own way

I had coffee with a friend tonight.  We haven't had much of a chance to catch up lately, just exchanging Facebook messages and the intention of getting together, which is pretty bad for two people who only live a few blocks apart.  But life gets in the way sometimes, right?

We talked shop a bit (she makes jewelry and we do a few shows together), and caught up on each other's news.  I told her that I had gotten an agent for my book, and how hard it had been to take a chance and send out those query letters, and how good it felt to not have that fear holding me back anymore.

One thing I realized as we spoke -- we've known each other for five or six years, and during that time, I've gone from single and working a job I didn't particularly like, sewing for myself, and with a book hidden inside my computer, to married, (mostly) self-employed sewing for others, and with an actual honest-to-god literary agent.

If anyone had told me at 45 that my life would change this much in 5 years, I wouldn't have believed it.

Sometimes you just have to get out of your own way.