#AtoZChallenge - The Vigilant P31 Woman

Vigilant - keenly watchful; alert and awake

17.  She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.

Sometimes getting our work done is not pretty, or not convenient.  We may have to work at a time of day that is contrary to our internal time clock.  We may have to cram for a test at school.  So we put on the coffee, splash our faces with cool water and get to it.

Parents are (or should be) experts at this practice.  Nobody starts out perfect at vigilance either, so don't freak out.  We put child-safe locks on cabinets so our little helpers can learn to walk before they learn to mix the mop water.  

Drivers are (or should be) experts at this practice.  If you are old enough and skilled enough to get behind the wheel of a heavy piece of metal, vigilance should be on your skills list.  When we lived in Fort Worth, I was driving I-30 westbound one day when a beautiful German Shepherd jumped a retaining wall and ran onto the road right in front of me.  It did not end as well as it could have, but on the other hand it could have been a lot worse, too.  This was before I even had a cell phone.  Please, for the for the sake of all you hold dear, please do not attempt to operate a motor vehicle and a cell phone at the same time!

18.  She perceiveth that her merchandise is good:  her candle goeth not out by night.

Most people reading this will consider themselves either a writer, or a reader, or both.  When we are in the zone with our writing, energy soars and we can spend all kinds of time on the craft.  We pay attention to grammar, spelling, setting, characterization and a million other details in order to exhibit due diligence to our work.

And readers?  How many times have you got caught up reading something that you "could not put down"?  Well, maybe life intrudes (it likes to do that), but in my own case, I found 'extra bits' of time' that may have otherwise been frittered away and put them to good use.  

Something just occurred to me.  Normally, I have been asking a question at the end of my A to Z posts, but neglected to do so on the last three (in my 'rush' to have the week's posts done on Sunday, 4/20).  Hmmm...looks like I'm still working on vigilance.  How about you?

~~~oOo~~~

(thanks to Jeremy @ Being Retro for the original button design, to dictionary.com for the definitions, and to picmonkey.com for the ability to customize the graphics.)