In Which I Analyze the Meaning of Both Present and Past Actions

So, I realize that last week I only posted once.  I'd like to say I have a very good reason for this.  I mean, I was helping my girlfriend adopt and adjust to her brand new furry friend, Madeline, the first dog she's ever had, so that's a pretty good excuse.  But the truth is that I probably could have gotten at least one of my Wednesday or Friday posts in, if not both.  I think the real culprit is that I recently (official, as of today) got a paid job as an actual writer.  I have been commissioned to write a screenplay, and the fact that I had been keeping a strict three-times-a-week schedule on this blog is a large part of the reason I felt capable of going after the job and reasonably comfortable accepting it.  Then, I think that once it became real, a part of me decided to prove that this was a mistake by missing blog posts, and not getting other essential and personal work done.

One of the most important ways in which I have been trying to self-improve is not to be so easily discouraged; just because I missed two blog posts is no reason to assume that it will happen again in the future.  I believe that not only can I write this screenplay, but I can still keep my Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule of blog posts, as well as doing everything else I need to get done.  I know I don't have much of a readership that depends on me, but that's not really the point—not exactly.  I depend on my ability to get these blog posts done, and so I promise to continue to try to post three times every week.

Now onto the post-psychoanalysis portion of my blog post:

When I was in the third grade, we had to make our own heraldic crest, complete with motto.  I spent a lot of time considering mine, but was eventually incredibly embarrassed by the result, and have avoided talking about it for years.  Nevertheless, here it is:

We were given a sheet of paper with the different symbols of heraldry within crests, but I no longer have that sheet.  Instead, I have consulted this website in my analysis below.

• MOTTO: "A Good Pet Is a Glory!"  Pretty straightforward, I think.  Clearly, even at the age of 8, I was greatly obsessed with pets and sharing my life with an animal; so obsessed, in fact, that I decided it would be the greatest representation of myself as a person.
• The Snail.  Right below the motto, you see a terrible likeness of Snaily, the pet I had at the time.  Snails also represent deliberation and perseverance on a heraldic crest.  These are both important qualities that I sometimes lack, as noted above.
• The Fish on Blue.  In the center of the crest, you notice a fish, clearly representative of Fishy, the first pet I could call my own.  A fish on a crest is also symbolic of "a true, generous mind; virtuous for himself, not because of his heritage; also unity with Christ, spiritual nourishment."  I'm quite certain that I did not intend the last part, if it was even indicated at on our symbols sheet.  The other parts, however, are definitely qualities I would have liked to embrace, even as a small child.  Also, the fish is on a blue background.  This could just be water, but blue also represents truth and loyalty, and I think that meaning was probably important to me as well.
• The Star on Brown.  According to the website I've been consulting, there's no symbolic meaning to brown on a crest, but I find it hard to believe that I would have included it otherwise.  The star, however, is the mark of the third son.  I am only the second son, but third child, so I think I decided to modernize "mark of the third son" and make it "mark of the third child."
• The Crescent Moon on Yellow.  Again, the website doesn't list any meaning for the yellow background, but if my memory serves me well, then it has something to do with fortune (i.e. gold).  This would make sense, as the crescent moon quite probably means "hope for greater glory."  Either that, or "serene power over mundane actions."  Both seem likely, but I imagine that, with the moon pointing towards Fishy, and the motto declaring that "a good pet is a glory," I was hoping for greater glory, in the form of more and greater pets.

GLORY ACHIEVED!  Thanks, Rosie!