(Last week I wrote about my youngest sister Nicole. This week Amy gets a turn. And yeah, that’s us in the photo.)

I think it’d be fair to say that I was somewhat of a goody-two-shoes as a kid. Not that I never did anything wrong. (Um, so, one Sunday afternoon I talked my siblings into refusing to get out of the mini-van in protest over hot dogs for lunch. I don’t know how long we sat out there, but we told our parents we weren’t coming in until they agreed to feed us something so much healthier…like pizza. The response of our smart – and probably highly amused – parents? They took their usual Sunday afternoon nap…and left the hot dogs out on the kitchen table in anticipation of our eventual surrender.)

But mostly, I was pretty obedient. And when I wasn’t…well…

Once when we were still young enough to take naps, my dad was home sick from work and my mom needed to get groceries. Mom tucked Amy and I in for a nap and told us she’d bring home a treat. She left…and Amy and I partied (er, played with our dolls) ’til we heard Mom arrive back home. Then we jumped back into our bunk beds and pretended to sleep. Mom “woke us up,” praised us for being good girls and awarded us with popsicles. (Incidentally, I’m eating a popsicle right now.) 

About half an hour later, the guilt got to us. Amy and I broke down crying, confessed that we hadn’t actually taken our nap. Funny thing is, I have no recollection of Mom’s response. (I know what my response would’ve been – probably a few words about lying, gratitude for the confession and then I’d go into a different room and laugh my head off.)

Anyway, I tell that story because, well, it’s just funny. But also because it connects (kinda sorta) to what I originally set out to blog about tonight…accountability.

People in Christian circles talk often about accountability partners. And at Hope Ministries – the homeless ministry I work for – we are all about accountability with the men, women and children we serve. And for me, personally, my newest foray into the world of accountability has been in the area of my writing.

See, I had a pretty sweet few weeks recently. I finaled in a couple contests (the Genesis and the Frasier) and had a fantastic time at a writing retreat (which I wrote about here) and man, I’ve just been having fun with it all. A newspaper reporter even called to interview me today. And for this former reporter, well, it was a treat to be on the other side of the interview.

But folks, there’s such a thing as real life. And in my real life, it’s not always easy to make room for Writing Melissa. I’ve got a day job and other outside activities and family and friends and…and there’s a lot that could and often does keep me from that “forward motion” I really want to see in my writing. 

So, for the first time, I welcomed an accountability partner into my life. This friend/coworker helps me stay on track…I email her my writing schedule each week and at the end of each writing night, I send her my word count and what I accomplished. She’s great about asking how my writing is going and showing an interest. I hugely appreciate it.

And, let me tell you, it works. Why, just tonight, temptation swooped down and said, “Let’s watch a movie. Let’s just sit back and relax. You worked hard today. You deserve it.” Thing is, I know that tomorrow my accountability partner is going to ask me how my writing went. I’ll have to report…and, well, ever since the popsicle incident I haven’t felt so good about lying, so I’ll have to be honest with her! 🙂

Have a goal but need an extra motivator to meet it? Try the accountability thing. I highly recommend it. Even more than cherry popsicles.