Sunday, December 13, 2009

The Pot of Gold

It's been sort of a dark week. Family matters (my mom's health), work load (two manuscripts landed! 700 pages of rewrite due when???) and the weather (dark, cold, rainy). Then suddenly today the skies cleared and a magnificent rainbow arched clear across the canyon.
I tend to get a little overly excited by things like rainbows and moon rises and deer grazing in our yard. And although I used to run for my camera, I've learned that I prefer to just enjoy the moment. Before I know it, the rainbow will fade and vanish, the moon will leave the horizon behind, and the deer will flick their tails and move on.
I no longer want to live the moment trying to capture the moment.
I just want to live the moment.
So soaking in the rainbow today (while Mark ran for his camera), I thought about the proverbial pot of gold. When I was a child, I believed in the pot of gold. It was probably a hope more than a belief. but still, I harbored enough of a hope that I chased after it a few times.
Today, I could actually see the end of the rainbow and it was very clear that there was no pot of any kind. There was simply a field, with a few cows. Not a leprechaun in sight.
I wondered at chasing for gold. How when you want it so badly, it just eludes you. The end of the rainbow keeps shifting, keeps changing, keeps disappearing.
And it occurred to me that the rainbow, in all its dazzling beauty, is the pot of gold. By chasing after something more you lose what's right in front of you.
So, reflecting on the bright and beautiful, I've decided that the colors of my rainbow for this week are:
  • The people who have been leaving me comments at previous postings at this blog. You guys are crazy and I love you! (And I will answer your Sammy questions at the entries where you posted them.)
  • The out-of-the-blue call from a screen writer who loves Swear to Howdy (my little overshadowed book that is so near and dear to my heart) and wants to write the screenplay for it.
  • A report from someone who has seen a preliminary screening (without music) of Flipped and says (breathlessly) that "it's brilliant".
  • A counter on the Internet that reports that there are "only" 277 days until the premier of Flipped.
  • The unexpected gift of a cut glass punchbowl that belonged to Mark's grandmother.
  • The friends who took the time and braved the storm to jingle bell rock the night away.
  • My family, whole and healthy and home.
Who needs a pot of gold?

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glad you update! Hope everything's OK with you and your family/friends! have a good week. =]

Jinnyd said...

Woo-hoo! Your books on the silver screen (as opposed to the gold screen? or the sterling silver screen? or the glow-in-the-dark purple screen?)! Won't be long before a Sammy Keyes movie comes out...right? RIGHT? *wiggles eyebrows meaningfully*

~Jinnyd

--The intangible lasts longer than the tangible. Always.--

Wendelin Van Draanen said...

Glow in the dark purple, oh,yeah! Wiggle wiggle. :-) (Don't read anything into that about movies...I'm jus' playin')

Anonymous said...

I really cant wait for any of your movies. =] You know what would be a dream come true? If I got to be the person in the SK movie that decided what music to put in. =) I cant decide what i want to be when I grow up- a photographer (my profile pic is one of my photography pieces of me), an author, a movie producer, artist/illustrator, songwriter. I have so many things I love to do! I probably will end up being an author/songwriter, but did you ever have a big ultimatum in your life like this?
Its tough growing up. :/
:)

xox xxCLxx

Pooja D. said...

I LOVE YOU TOO WENDELIN! YOU RULE!!!!!
YOU ARE SUPER COOOL!
YOU ARE ONE OF MY POTS OF GOLD!!!!
:D

Anonymous said...

Hello! :D Winter break is almost here, and it probably doesnt snow very much where you live. :/ But anyways, have great holidays! Please (pleaseplease) check out my Cammy blog sometime when you are not busy. Or, at least, skim through it if you dont want to read it. That would make me the luckiest girl ever-:) Anywho, Happy holidays! (again)

Unknown said...

tough week but i'm sure the holidays with ur wonderfull family will make up for it =D!

Susan C said...

Swear to Howdy is one of my favorites :)

Anonymous said...

Gello! I was just commenting to tell you I made a fan made cover for SK+theWC. It would be amazing if the actual author got to see the very first fan made cover (and I'm proud of it, because it took me forever, I had to photoshop the colors and think about what I could use as the pictures. Then I had to take &each and every* other book cover and crop out the letters because I couldnt find the nook cover font online. It took me a looong time) So can you *please* when youre not busy, checkj it out? It's on my blog. latest post. =] If you dont want to, then thats okay.

xo

Anonymous said...

**sorry I didnt mean to say GELLO. It was meant to be HELLO, haha.**

Wendelin Van Draanen said...

xxCLxx: I like that you want to do the music. I was hoping that a song or two that I wrote for the Flipped movie would be accepted, but they decided to go with popular music from the late 50's and 60's 'cause that's when they set the movie. Most people want to be IN a movie (or want to play SK if those books become movies), but I wouldn't -- I'd want a song on the soundtrack! So how about that for something (else) in common?

Pooja D. : THANK YOU! :-) Shine on!

Helen: Thank you!

Susan C: ;-)

Anonymous said...

I guess I'm just the musical type of person, I'm an idealist. Figures, because I want to be an author/songwriter/photographer. =]

neonina05 said...

Wow! That's TWO of your books that are now going to be movies (assuming you said yes?!) You've become quite known, these days.

When will Flipped (the movie) be released? Sometime in 2010, of course, but I'm so excited! =)

Wendelin Van Draanen said...

Swear to Howdy is VERY preliminary at this point. No promises, but it's nice to have it noticed.

Flipped will be (from what I've been told) September 17th 2010. Seems like ages away, but I'm sure the time will fly by. I'll post news as I hear it.

Anonymous said...

Hello :) I think Flipped will be the cutest movie everrrr xD Who's acting the lead roles of J and B? :) And look at my WC cover on myCammy blog sometime.. I'm anxious to know what people think. It may just fool some.. haha, just kidding.
Anyways, why is the movie taking place in the 50's/60's? :/ But itll still be great :) <3

Anonymous said...

its sunday! yay!