Manuscript Submission

I hit 'print' and the printer starts spitting paper. My four year old grabs several pages and runs to me.

"That's for you, mama!" He's excited. He drops them right where the Baby just dropped her banana. "Sorry..."

In the mornings I'm all Zen. "That's okay. We'll use them for crafts. Next time you hear the printer, leave the paper there. When I print your colouring pages, I'll let you know. Want some now?"

"Nope."

I hit 'print' again and take the sticky Baby upstairs to wash up.

I come back to the living room floor covered in pages.

(%#%$$@#?????????????????)

"Mama, he's sorry," says the six year old. "He didn't mean to."

(%#%$$@#?????????????????)

"Didn't I just tell you? Just a minute ago? "

(%#%$$@#?????????????????)

(What Zen? They can hear my blood pressure rising.)

"Just a minute ago?" I wail into the ceiling. "Not to touch my pages?" I holler.

I grasp how comical the situation is when I hear two simultaneous little voices.

Son: "Yes Sir."

Daughter: "Mom, I see you're really upset, and I know this is frustrating, but this can be fixed."

After I finish laughing, I'm Zen again. *

Note: Author Jennifer Hudson Taylor compiled a list of things one should check and double-check before submitting a manuscript. Check out on her blog!

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*None of the children were harmed in the current episode of "Manuscript Submission."