I Feel So Official

I've hit some milestones over the last month and I feel like I should get a pin or something. Wait - I do get a pin! My PRO pin! I chased our chapter president, Maureen Hardegree, down at the RWA conference and then found another board member standing in line and got her signature as well. And what magic thing did I do to get the coveted PRO pin? I finished my &*^% manuscript. And then sent out query letters. And then three months later I finally got a rejection letter. I saw the envelope in the mail the day before I left for RWA and got really excited. This is how it went:

"Honey, I got rejected!" I yelled to hubby.
"Oh. Sorry. How you feeling?" said hubby.
"Fabulous!" I replied. " This is so great!"
"Uh. Do you need to cry? Should I go get some chocolate?"
"No! This is awesome! I can apply for my PRO pin now!"
(picture hubby shaking his head in confusion as he walks away from me) "I just don't get you."

I did feel a little silly being so excited over being rejected. But that nice shiny pin means I've hit a big marker I never thought I'd reach. I have a completed MS! And moreover, I'm actually happy with it. Hubby read it and laughed out loud in some places - and that's not easy to do since he's the funnier part of our equation.

So, the real journey now begins. I'm not waiting around for the path to appear and the fog to clear - I've actually already begun MS #2. And I'm going to wear my pin every day for a month to remind myself that I can, in fact, complete an entire MS because now I'm a PRO. :)