Sunday Snippet: The Chasing Summer Edition
It’s October 30 and it’s chilly and a little breezy here at the lake—crisp autumn chilly. The sun has been shining all weekend, until today. Clouds are rolling in and I think we’re due some rain. We raked leaves yesterday and hauled 10 golf-cart loads to the detritus pile up on the hill. It’s truly fall… and now I’m wondering what the hell happened to summer?
I know summer was here—after all the cottage is still open (although we’re closing up soon). I vaguely remember a boat ride or two, several swims in the lake, although not nearly as many as previous years, and a lot of editing work, and writing and promoting new River’s Edge stories.
But Husband was diagnosed with colon cancer in June and we spent countless hours with doctors and surgeons and oncologists (he’s all good after surgery to remove the offending portion of his colon, but we’re still doing doc visits). Most of the summer, I had a knot in my stomach over Husband as well as over book promotion and wondering do I have another book in me (I’d better have 5, actually–I just signed a new 4-book contract!). Plus, I have no idea where October got to—I mean, wasn’t it just August a couple of weeks ago? The kids were here and we were fishing and swimming in the lake, right?
Clichéd as it might be to say this, it seems the older I get, the faster time goes by and suddenly, I’m losing an entire season instead of enjoying long lazy days floating on the bay in the sun or… writing…
Trying to get Book 3 in the Weaver Sisters trilogy written, I’m worrying that I’m letting a weird summer that was full of drama be my excuse for not getting writing done now. I truly want an excuse. I could say, “Oh, the summer just flew by and it never really felt like summer, so I just didn’t think about the books, but that’s not true. I thought about them all the time, even in the midst of Husband’s health crisis and the editing gigs and everything else. The Weaver Sisters–the books I thought would be a piece o’ cake to write because I have sisters after all–have turned out to be harder to write than I ever imagined.
Yeah, I know it’s been a tough summer for me, for my family, for my dear friends. You might even say its been one helluva summer. Changes, both scary and joyful, have been coming at us so fast, I feel like time’s zipping by in one of those flippy calendar timelines they used to use in the movies to show the passage of months and years.
But if I am the writer that I claim to be, that I want to be, shouldn’t I be able to write, no matter what? I always maintain that writing is essential to who I am and it is, but there are days, now and again, where I want the people in my head to just sit quietly for just a little bit, while I take a deep breath and recenter.
Gratitude for this week: Husband got a good report from the oncologist; promotion for TFCW is going pretty well; the leaves have been particularly spectacular this year; my Fitbit is going to be replaced at no cost to me–yay; and I got the guest room closet in the cottage cleaned and rearranged and even managed to get rid of some things that should have been gone ages ago.
Stay well, be kind, stay safe, get your boosters, hold on to those masks, and most of all, mes amies, stay grateful,
9 Comments
Roseann McGrath Brooks
I don’t know if it’s a woman thing, a writer thing, or what, but some of us feel that if we’re not producing 24×7, we’re being lazy. We have to remember that we’re better at the other things (like writing, being a good spouse, and so on) when we let ourselves take a break every once in a while — and forgive ourselves for not always being “on.”
Nan
Thank you, Roseann and how right you are…women take a lot on themselves.
Christina Salem
HUGS to you
Nan
Thank you, Christine!
Liz Flaherty
So glad for J’s good report. The fact that writing is essential to who you are is in no way a promise it’s going to be easy. Just ask any other writer! Have a great week, Nan!
Janine
I’m glad your husband got a good report from the oncologist. I agree, time does move faster as you get older. But this past super hot summer sure seemed to drag on.
Nan
Our summer wasn’t too bad weather wise–typical Midwest hot August, but otherwise fairly decent. I know so many areas of the country suffered record-breaking heat. I feel for you!
Janine
We usually get hot summers, but this one seemed worse. It could just be me though. I don’t do well with the heat.
Nan
Our temperatures have been surprisingly moderate for November, but I’m okay with that. Although, come to think of it, I’m ready for snow.