I won! I won!

I don't win... ooops, let me rephrase that, I don't win contests. I may come in second, third, or receive honorable mention. I may not be present when the entry with my name is drawn for a "must be present to win" contest. The fact is, I don't win contests, or I didn't win contests. Please notice the change from present to past tense in the last sentence.

Dicovering The Writer's Cramp last week, I decided to try my hand and mind to some of its daily contests. The first I entered was a poetry contest. Hey, I write poetry, have even had several poems published. Finally a contest for me, I thought. When the forum announced the winners, I won, but I didn't win. Everyone that entered tied for the prize. However, even though I liked the idea of at least being part of the winning pack, I didn't feel like a real winner, more like another second, third, or honorable mention placer.

The next contest I entered required a mystery. I love mysteries; I was raised on Nancy Drew. I try to discover the culprit before he or she is revealed by the author, but I'm not very good at writing one. My mind likes to solve mysteries but not to plot them. Ah, ha! I wrote a book for pre-teens that was a fairly good mystery; therefore, maybe if I wrote a short mystery for that age group my brain wouldn't fry trying to keep evidence and details organized. Soon, "The Missing File" snuggled in its new home in my portfolio, and a bitem link rested on The Writer's Cramp forum.

I never logged on to Writing.Com the day winners were to be announced until after lunch. I wanted to know the results, but I was afraid to know. Taking a deep breath, I checked my email. Look, a message from The Milkman. I anxiously opened the message to find a nice review and... oh, a so-so rate.

Disappointed, thinking that if my entry had won I would have received a higher rating, I clicked on the next message. What? Oh, my! I won! I won! My mystery received the wonderful first place. I won! I won!

My grin could not be scraped off my face. If I had been able, I would have danced a jog, I mean, a jig. I wanted to shout, to crow, to yell the news from the rooftop. I won! Finally, not only had I won in life, but I won a contest, a writing contest. I won!

Ah, too bad I don't know how to get excited...