The Persistence of Ants

We've been battling the ants for almost a year now. We beat them back and they disappear for a short while, but they always seem to return. One on the kitchen counter. One in the bathroom. One in the den. One on the living room couch. Annoying little buggers. If they find so much as a crumb (and Lily can leave them in places you wouldn't think), all their friends come marching in behind them to retrieve it bit by bit.


With the pets, we won't use poison. My dad swears poison doesn't work anyway. We have tried every home remedy recommended but NOTHING works. In fact, we've found they're actually drawn to a few. For instance, our ants love garlic. And peppermint. Nothing seems to stop them. They find their way around everything else from cayenne pepper to cinnamon to turmeric.

At night, I try not to envision the giant ant mound underneath the house. I just know that it's there. I'm only half surprised that they haven't carried off one of the cats. Yet.

As I was battling them again this afternoon, it struck me.  When it comes to writing, we need to be like these stubborn little ants. In our writing. On our journey toward publishing. We should be like these stinkers.

One or two of us venturing bravely forward, finding the prize and bringing it back to others. We have to bring back little morsels of encouragement to keep the others going. We have to be persistent. Find our around the baby powder, slog through the vaseline and cross over the chalk lines. If we are anything like these ants, we will succeed!

At the moment, soapy water is working (thanks Drew!). But we have to be as determined to get rid of the ants as they are to get into this house. The fact that we've been battling them for almost a year now shows how tenacious they are.

If we can just be that dogged in our determination, how far will that take us?