The Great Adventure

Yesterday I talked about tenacity and the need to learn it, both as a writer, and for everyday life. Today I am learning–relearning–how much a pain it is to learn how to be tenacious and patient.

The clutch work continues. We tried to be as prepared as possible. I made sure we had the right tools–I thought–and we printed off instructions even though we have replaced clutches twice before. The instructions told us that the process takes four hours for professionals and about 10 hours for amateurs (that’s us).

We’re into the second day, and still don’t have all the bolts out of the bell housing that holds the transmission to the engine. The instructions said one or two might be tight and might need a “cheater pipe” and some elbow grease. We have found that pretty much all of them are that case. Because the Miata is a small car I reasoned that the transmission will be smaller and lighter and easier to manage. What I didn’t consider was that spaces would be much smaller and harder to get to.

But enough of my sob story. The lesson here is that I am relearning patience, and the lesson, I don’t think, is ever easy or fun. It’s all part of the character thing. And character is often achieved through blood, sweat, and unfortunately, tears.

So the next time you are waiting to hear from a publisher who you think is taking too long, consider the value of patience. It’s never easy to gain, but will come in real handy later on.

I know. I am needing to be patient with the hunk of metal in my garage.