Charity/Business updates

Despite the depressing last post, there is one small ray of light.

My business/charity is doing well. Very well, at the moment. June and July, I met my goal requirements, which was very exciting. August blew them out of the water and ended with five times my goal amount. Five times! I cried for two of the large orders that came in and have met multiple amazing women.

Of course, 9/10th of the money goes into the charity and building up the business. I don't really get to see much of it. But, last month did allow me to pay for Katie's three months of ballet lessons, which is good because the business is the only way I can afford to send her. I'm hoping this month meets goal again, since Christmas is right around the corner and that too needs to come from the sliver of business money I get to keep.

But it's hopeful. It's catching on. The word is spreading. I'm receiving letters about how much my angels have been helping in the coping process and grief. A little at a time, I'm making a difference in other people's lives, even when I seem incapable of fixing up our situation. That's something - that's something big.

August has given me hope that this might really take off and get big. Once Christmas is over, the money I get from the business is going to go towards getting an official business license and talking to our tax guy about exactly how this will work. Once both of those are done, I'm going to seek out hospital gift shops and start getting them to carry items for both healthy babies and the ones that don't make it. I want to make sure that parents who leave the hospitals empty handed, just like I have, will at least have a token of beautiful comfort, something to hold onto. People not in this situation may think that a little baby sculpture doesn't do anything, but I've experienced the power of filling my empty hands with something I can hold and how it really does help, even if only a little.  A little is something to hold onto in that situation. It's something that gets you through that moment, that drive home, that hour, that time of tears.

September was to be my month to finally get my Storm Series finished. The trilogy would be complete. But instead, on September 1st, I have 26 angels to make who those in grief. That doesn't include any of the angels that will be ordered this month. So for now, I'll write while clay chills. I'll write while clay bakes. I'll write while clay cools down again. It'll cripple the speed of the process, but right now, my charity comes first. Writing makes me feel alive, but the charity makes me feel good. It makes me feel connected to a big network of supportive people. It makes me feel like I'm part of something bigger than myself. And the business portion of it is letting us scrape by financially. I love writing, and I will continue to pursue publishing the first two books of the trilogy, but I may have to wait a month or two longer to finish the trilogy.