To The Month That It Was - November.

Racing through the blog marathon in the month of October this year, I actually got addicted to putting up a post every single day on my turf here but then came November, the month of National Novel Writing and I plunged into it without any preparation, strategy and know how. All I knew was that I have to keep hitting the keys around a single story (Ideally) which I thought could be driven into forming a novel. Although I knew about the concept earlier but 50K in a single month always appeared an audacious target to be taken up as a challenge. As the NaNoWriMo prompt kept flashing in front of me, I dismissed it like previous years. But on 31^st Oct, there I was on the NaNoWriMo official site registering for my debut novel to be dished out in its first draft. I was there because of motivation and pushing from my friends in the virtual space but I am so glad I listened to them and made a start somewhere. Otherwise I had become a champion in procrastination. I started this blog four years ago but since then haven’t been able to take the next big step beyond this portal. I have been sleeping with the story ideas but never visited them in the broad daylight.

So this past one month which had put blogging again to a back seat had been quite an eventful one and once again while life kept throwing lemons, I churned out lip smacking lemonade. I was travelling, was on vacations with my kids, nursing them as they both went down with Typhoid, training for my annual half marathon and yes writing for NaNoWriMo.

To begin with, the Half Marathon (ADHM 2016) was a terrific experience like last year. When I tell people that I am running a half marathon, the immediate response after that big, ‘WOW’ is ‘What’s your timing?’ Running marathons has become such a people’s event that in big cities it is one of the most trending things and a competitive affair too but for me it is still another way of pushing myself beyond my limits. I am not a great runner but my endeavour is to train my body and mind in such a way that not only I finish comfortably without any injury but also recover fast. So this time I could achieve both my aims. Even my timings could have been better had I not got bogged down with knee and back pain but as I always say, ‘Every finish deserves a celebration.’ Here’s sharing my happiness after the touchdown and for my kids, they still think that the medal was for some ranking in the run because medal for a mere finish is beyond their perception. But yeah, the feeling is enormous and synonymous to a win.

And all this while, the keying was lacking behind, but then suddenly the Indian WriMos group was bombarded by an early finish. As the novel can be validated anytime after 20^th of November, the winning certificates starting pouring in and that is when the tempo actually picked up. The tapping became harder, the recorded WC(Word Count) per hour per day kept soaring high each day. The word sprints we did at the Indian WriMo group were amazing. Trying but pushing us closer to our win every day. Every single word counted and just when I thought that the finish is near and the target achievable, pop came up the challenge of kids falling ill and that too both of them together. With me playing the role of a single mom, the writing pace was thrown out of gear and when I rejoined the race, the average WC of 4-5K/day glared back mockingly right on my face. But then being so close to the finish, giving up would have been really meek. The final push came with pulling 10K in two days, finishing the mark of 50K a day prior. Yes! I became a NaNoWriMo winner in my first attempt and this month of non-stop writing left me in a mixed emotions ranging from an exhaustive mental state to that of pure ecstasy. With reddened eyes (strained and overwhelmed) when I looked at my winner certificate, I was stunned. I could not believe that I actually did it. Sharing another proud moment from the month.

Life is all about pushing yourself to bring out the best in you. When you actually achieve the feat, it makes you realize how far you have reached fueling your dream and that impossible is nothing. You can either buckle down under pressure or outshine yourself. The choice is entirely yours. Stop brooding over why you can’t achieve what you dare. Instead give it all of you to win that smile.

KEEP DARING

My new mantra and the New Year resolution too. Be the CEO of your life and live it not just less ordinary but extraordinary.