A few weeks ago, I was having problems. A medication switch meant my anxiety went from manageable to “red alert” level with panic attacks and heart palpitations. I felt like a complete train wreck.
I saw that one of my favorite authors, Jennifer Weiner (IN HER SHOES, GOOD IN BED, GOODNIGHT NOBODY), was coming to town for a book signing coinciding with the paperback release of her latest, THE NEXT BEST THING. Another contemporary women's fiction writer, Sarah Pekkanen, was with her. I hadn't read any of her books, but had one sitting on my Kindle (THESE GIRLS) and was eager to hear her speak and then get a signed copy of her latest, THE BEST OF US.
Sidenote: I read THE NEXT BEST THING in 1 day a couple weekends ago, and spent last Saturday with THE BEST OF US. I got lost in both of them and they were wonderful.
The day of the signing, however, I was in such a foul mood. My crazy anxiety medicine was still leaving my system, and I had self-selected a seat in the “woe is me” waiting room. I had invited two friends to meet me for the signings, so I told myself I needed to put on my big girl panties and just go. I knew I'd kick myself later if I missed the opportunity to see both authors.
When we waited for the event to start, my friends had to put up with me complaining about heart palpitations and dizziness as we stared at a photo of Leonardo DiCaprio on the cover of some magazine. He does nothing for me.
Anyway, we took our seats and then listened to funny stories from Jennifer and Sarah, and then they signed books and posed for photos. I promised I'd tweet my photos (because really, you'd have to hold me back to NOT tweet anything #addict). A brief mention of my blog was made, and a “I'll have to check it out!” from Jennifer Weiner was immediately dismissed in my mind as an “oh, she's nice, but she'll never look at it.” I left happy with an uplifted mood and gratefulness for my friends who unknowingly forced me to go.
Sarah Pekkanen and Jennifer Weiner
You know the K-Mart “ship my pants” commercial? (If not, view it here.) I ended up having a “sh*t my pants” moment when I got home after eating dinner with one of my friends:
@skinnyemmie I am loving your blog! And Enell! My breasts are their number one fans!
— Jennifer Weiner (@jenniferweiner) May 8, 2013
@skinnyemmie Loved meeting you and @jenniferweiner and I were reading your blog in the car ride back to the hotel and raving about it!
— Sarah Pekkanen (@sarahpekkanen) May 8, 2013
Like I said, sh*t my pants.
They might have looked at it for a couple seconds or a couple minutes, but it didn't matter. I got some Twitter high-fives from people I admire. It was just a little nudge of encouragement when I really needed it. They didn't know that my self-esteem was in the gutter that night, or that I have three abandoned books-in-progress. They kicked my ass out of the pity party and back into the land of the productive and inspired.
with Jennifer Weiner
with Sarah Pekkanen
Never underestimate the impact of a kind word to a friend, or to strangers.
Thanks to Jen and Sarah for giving me a nudge.
Edited to add: Then this just happened. Yep. I'm fueled up on happy juice.
