Carrots

by Francine Puckly 
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​This time of year when we think of carrots, most of us think of cute, furry bunny rabbits nibbling away on someone else’s garden produce. But for me, carrots are the incentives I dangle a few inches out in front to motivate me. It’s gotta be something that makes me want to do the difficult but necessary work to finish various goals and projects. 

For the past nine months, I dangled a pair of ridiculously-priced, but fabulous nonetheless, pair of Brighton sunglasses in front of me as I toiled away on yet another complete rewrite of my first manuscript. The sunglasses are an insanity purchase I could never justify without putting myself through hell and back. I wasn’t permitted to acquire them until the manuscript was in respectable condition. Unfortunately, the longer I write, the higher my standard of “respectable” becomes, even if it’s not yet up to the industry standard.

Although I loitered in the Brighton store on various occasions during the past nine months and tried the sunglasses on no less than a couple hundred times, I never bought them. 
Until Tuesday.

Monday marked the final push to complete the manuscript. A frenzy of reading and scribbling and re-typing changes to a manuscript I can recite in my sleep. The foggy finish left my family without meals and an unfortunate missed taxi-service, but I ended the day at 11:30 p.m. with a complete manuscript and a terrific feeling of satisfaction…because I was going to get those glasses.

Despite my sleep deprivation, there was a slight lilt in my step as I entered the Brighton store the next morning. The salesclerk was ecstatic that I hadn’t come to drool. A few minutes later, I walked out the door with my sunglasses. And I haven’t looked back. And I don’t feel one ounce of guilt.

It’s the first time in my adult life that I established a material goal and didn’t give in. It felt fabulous…so fabulous that I’ve established the next goal. It’s an even tougher goal for me with a higher reward: a fabulous dress. 

Where will I wear it? I have no idea. But you can bet I’ll buy it, perhaps months in the future, when I’ve completed the next milestone.

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