Things That Keep Me Awake at Night

Last summer, I had the opportunity to sell books at a local farmer’s market. It was a lot of fun interacting with the community. I saw many familiar faces from our time owning a feed store.

The trouble with selling paperback copies of my novels, face to face, is people wanted them signed. Now, this isn’t actually trouble, but it feels weird to me. I would totally want a book signed if I bought it from the author, so I get it, but it’s weird to be the one signing the books.

In fact, it makes my heart race and my brain gets all haywire.

So this couple approaches the table, and I know them, and we start talking. They buy a book. Well, the husband was kind of heading up the transaction and so I asked if he wanted his name on the book. I got so nervous, my heart was racing. I couldn’t think.

He said yes, and I knew, as soon as I handed the book back, that I should have made it to him and his wife, but I didn’t. I only put his name. I almost ran them down to make the correction, but then I was so flustered by it all, that I just did… nothing.

Now, 7 or 8 months later, I lay awake in bed at night, thinking about that. Thinking about how I should have included both of their names. I even thought about joining Facebook again to message them and apologize.

I don’t know what to do or if I even should do anything. I lost two hours of sleep, just last night, regretting how I wrote that salutation in that one book.

Are you an over-thinker? Do you lose sleep pondering situations that have long since passed?

Until next time,