Now Git!

Today I'm writing a post that will be upbeat and positive despite the fact that this is the opposite of how I feel.
Normally, this would be called dishonesty. But I'm calling it "beating back the demons," because they are out there, pounding on the door and demanding to be let in.
Let me explain. Last night was one of those nights where you wake up for just a split second too long. In your head, you snap on a little light above the bathroom sink. Outside, one of your personal demons is driving by (because he's stalking you) and pulls in the driveway. You talk on the step for a sec, then go to answer the phone and when you come back, the demon and his buddies are in the kitchen pulling stuff out of the refrigerator. They've texted their friends that there's a buffet and an open bar, and soon your head is full of your personal demons--fears, regrets, bad memories--and they've put on the rave lights and the thumping Euro-pop music and it's now 3:30 a.m. and good luck getting any rest.
Trouble is, when the new day starts, I'm not ready. Some of them have passed out on the couch and will not leave (just like this sad analogy, unfortunately).
So, rather than dwell on them, I will think about the very good weekend Mike and I had sitting in a booth talking to people at the Johnson County Home and Garden Show.
I know that sitting all day for hours on a weekend doesn't necessarily sound like a good time. But after this one (and the one two weeks ago at the KC Royal) I just came away feeling...grateful.
This is an expo filled for the most part with local small business people--home remodelers, hardware store and garden store owners, people with interesting inventions (have a look at Jacket for Two, a Kansas City business).
We're newcomers to all this, and writers, to boot. And everyone was way nicer to us than we had any right to expect. Show bosses Pat and Kate Riha kindly set us up at the last minute (we signed up late) and even stopped by to chat and introduced us around. Patricia Lanza, Lasagna Gardening author and superstar, even took an interest in us, stopping by our booth and offering us tips and advice about the book business.
The cutthroat nature of business gets a lot of press. And I'm sure there's some truth to the stereotype. But at the risk of over-romanticizing, I have to say that what we saw was just the opposite. People were nice, through and through. They reached out and helped us and seemed genuinely interested in our success. And as long as I'm thinking about that, the world isn't such a bad place.
There now, demons. Scat!