June 4 2026

Stay in the Game, Part II

At the end of March, I wrote about staying in the game. I knew that if I could trust myself and the process, my manuscript would be in much better shape for an editor by June. Despite traveling in April and all the extra events that May brought, I stayed committed to editing Finding Joy in the East.

With the help of my cousin Nancy, we not only cut another forty-some pages, but also settled on a more fitting subtitle: A Comeback Journey. On May 31 came a milestone—a more polished draft two, ready for an editor. If I continue to stay in the game, there’s a good chance you’ll be holding a copy by March 2027, a goal I’ve had since Finding Joy in the West launched in March 2025.

As we approach the halfway point of the year, let’s do a quick review. What’s working? What’s getting in the way? Is it time to tweak some goals, or simply recommit? It’s baseball season. Keep swinging. You never know which hit might turn into a home run.

One trap I’ve noticed is treating summer like the seventh-inning stretch. Sometimes when people stand up to stretch, they go home. They miss the best part of the game.

We tell ourselves we’ll pick up our projects again after Labor Day. But after three months off, it feels like starting over. Before we know it, October is here, and we’re promising ourselves next January will be different.

So, I’m here to say: stay focused. Review for a moment, but don’t stop. Maybe extend your timeline, but keep moving. Stay in the game. You’ve got this!