The Waiting Game from an Author's POV

By Cal Orey

Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. 
-Carl Sagan

40 yrs. to relive Quebec trip

Ah, waiting. This bittersweet topic has been on my brain for days, weeks, and months but I've been waiting to discuss it. I get patience but that doesn't mean I embrace it. I've done my share of playing the waiting game, past, present, and future. The other day as I answered the phone rings to dish out reading for the psychic network I thought: "If he/she waited for a day, week, or months they would have the answer." But folks want answers yesterday. I understand. I do.

Waiting for snow during a West Coast drought

BOOK(S): The first waiting game prize that comes to mind is that after 15 years--I finally got the book project I've wanted all along. It is a surprise that I'll share in months (yes, you'll have to wait) but it did come when I least expected it to arrive. It was welcomed and well deserved. 
Also, I was assigned to write the third edition of The Healing Powers of Vinegar--my best-selling book in the Healing Powers Series. I am not surprised and I am looking forward to giving my oldest "child" a new and improved makeover. After all, I owe it to him. You see back in 1999, I was given this book project. It was an accident, of sorts. The editorial consultant believed red wine vinegar would take this book to success. During my research is when I discovered his idea was novel but I accidentally fell into the world of  a Mediterranean diet and lifestyle that paved the way for the series. I waited four years to receive my first royalty check and the rest is history. The book has been translated in more than a dozen languages and it was a bestseller in South Korea! As the consultant forecasted: "The book will have a long shelf life." And I waited for his prediction to come to fruition.

MY FUR KIDS:  I am a doting mom and will do anything for my two dogs and one cat. I've gone through waiting for the diagnosis and results of neutering, tumors, ear infections, to seeking the perfect feline and searching for the right dog to replace the one I lost too early. 

Dec. 2-Feb. 2 --worth the wait, see above
 2 yr old
Aussie of my life 

Watching the clock while your "kid" is in surgery or waiting until the appointment that'll give you a clue of what's going on is a challenge. 

Waited yesterday for vet verdict
No dental surgery!

But each time I do it, as you have done it, it's another lesson in life. Whatever happens it happens on its own time table. Yes, you can toy with fate (a bit) and speed up the process of happenings but in the end the results are likely to be the same as if you didn't do anything and just waited.
And speaking of my furry friends...I read dogs live in the moment. So does that mean they don't miss me when I run humanoid errands or go on a trip? It seems they do remember me and attitude is almost non existent.  So if they do play the waiting game they seem to do it better than we do.

BOOK SIGNINGS/SHOWS/COLUMNS: This week was full of anticipation as I waited for outcome of a potential repeat book signing to be booked in Roseville, CA, and a guest appearance on a popular San Francisco radio channel. Both arrived. Both are booked.  
The local food column "What's Cookin' at Callie's Cabin" that I penned for years? I finally decided (after waiting for the right time) to discontinue it. I loved doing it every week for a long, long time. I've gone through countless editors and publishers. But it was time to say goodbye. I admit it. I exhaled.  Done. I have bigger fish to fry: More books to write, more traveling for research.  It was the right to time to cut my losses and move forward. It happened--I waited. I quit. And it feels so right.

PACIFIC NORTHWEST TRIP: Take two? After being blindsided by a bathroom redo similar to a major hurricane that hit every room in the house and outdoors, I was forced to reschedule a long planned book signing in Seattle and research in Vancouver. It was an event that hit like a natural disaster and affected my family. A lot. But once I picked up the pieces the trip was back on again for early Spring--and life goes on.

Anticipation for Seattle/Vancouver in March

So, here I sit. I wait for going north in a rainy month (probably a storm will provide roller coaster "rough air") and savoring the getaway.
Ironically, I just returned from the grocery store which including the big wait; I read five mags while waiting in a swirl cookie line. I sat down cross-legged on the floor (similar to when I was grilled by the French Canadian immigration officer at 1:30 AM).  I chilled. Sadly, one elderly man had a mega meltdown: "I can't wait in this f****** line any longer! Fifteen minutes is ridiculous." Good for him. 
But hey, I learned how to make a lean mac and cheese, how sipping tea can soothe my frazzled nerves, and umpteen ways to bake pork chops (no matter I'm a vegetarian/vegan). Oh well, thank the store gods for magazines at the checkout stands. The wait was worth the new reading glasses, scented pine cones (90% marked down), and cozy socks to keep my feet warm when I make a fire tonight and wait for it to ignite.