This summer, we’ve been relishing the double impatiens adorning our front step–our granddaughter picked them out on a spring trip to the garden shop and decided these white buckets sitting in our shed could hang from the stair rails. She was right. (I can’t get this photo to turn around…but you get the idea.)

What great taste! Sweeping the steps this morning, I noticed this small white bud, fallen before its time.

Such promise here…multi-layered petals packed safely away in one succinct package. With time, water, and sunshine, this would’ve been one of the faintly pink blossoms that stop us mid-flight to take another look.

At the same time, I’ve been stuck in my writing, unable to settle into telling an incredible woman’s story. Perhaps it’s because she’s a real WWII nurse who made an incredible difference in so many soldiers’ lives. Until now, my characters have all come into being through what we call the muse. 

But this woman actually suffered through more battles than I could have imagined. So tenacious and stalwart…how can I possibly do her memory justice?

Whatever the reason, I’ve been struggling. But yesterday, our granddaughter shared a quote with me that has me rethinking things:

If the plan doesn’t work, change the plan, but never the goal.

Maybe for this particular novel, I must break free from my usual method. Maybe I need to learn a new process.

And maybe I will!