Winter weather woes and day job drama, a reality check

Snowvember in Western New York (courtesy of Amy Johnson Blocher)

I really screwed up at work this week.  My mistake cost the company a considerable sum of money.  The good news is that I own the company, so I did not lose my job.  The bad news is that I own the company so I lost a considerable sum of money!!  It was bound to happen sooner or later.  How many of us juggle this whole writing adventure with all of the other “real world” responsibilities, like our day jobs and our families?  Juggling, it turns out, is not my forte.  I feel it important to point out here that no animals or people were harmed in this debacle.  I simply forgot an important piece of information that I should not have, and likely would not have, forgotten if I had been more attentive at work.  The release of A Whisper of Bones and the looming deadline of a scholarly publication have kept my focus in the direction of non income (or, rather, not much income) generating endeavors.  When less lucrative pursuits are accomplished at the expense of the small business that supports my family, it’s time to take a step back and re-evaluate.

My costly mistake comes at the worst possible time.  Many folks are digging themselves out from underneath a record breaking snow storm in my part of the world.  While some people enjoyed the unexpected days off from school or work, many small business owners were forced to close during this historic weather event, losing nearly a week of income.  It has been a strange few days for those of us who live north of the impact area.  We closed our businesses largely because the rest of the city was crippled by severe weather and travel bans.  It was surreal to look out the window at clear skies while our neighbors only a few miles away could not see the street from inside their snow covered homes.  Closing down our business when the skies were blue and the roads were clear in our neck of the woods was a bitter pill to swallow.  An expensive blunder on top of several days of lost revenue was cause for concern.

My husband and business partner kindly stayed quiet while I apologized profusely and promised to get my head back in the game.  I declared my intention to give up on my writing and my research, sincerely intending to walk away until such time that I could spread myself a bit thinner with less dire consequences.  He would not hear of it.  So, with my tail between my legs, I crawled off to my office to ponder how I might prevent this from happening again?  Am I making a big deal of nothing?  Has this ever happened to anyone else?  Please make me feel better by sharing your mistakes, the lessons you have learned and how you moved forward.  Thanks!