Bumps, Potholes, and Tsunamis along the Writer’s Way by J Vincent

For some strange reason I went to check what was up on the WARA blog this morning.  I saw Pat’s great blog from the 2nd and thought, “No one else has posted?”  Then I realized it wasn't mid-month.  In fact today is my day to blog!  I’m way too tired to check what the topic is supposed to be.  After reading Pat’s blog this is the topic that came to mind.  I know, my thought process is a little warped, or perhaps a lot twisted these days!

My writing total for August was zilch, nada, zero.  Or to the best of my memory it was.  This summer has sorely tested the will to write, let alone time to write.  First we sold our house, then a week before the closing the buyer just disappeared without telling anyone.  We were about two-thirds moved out by then and so I got to unpack a little of what I had already packed.  The house went back on the market and we soon had another contract.  As the closing neared we started to discover just how expensive selling an older house can be.  First came the radon test. An expensive radon eliminator had to be installed.  Then the septic system had to have an upgrade and a collar.  I could go on but you can see this picture and we made it to the closing.  A week after the closing we received a demand from the buyers to pay for an item we had clearly stated in writing on the house prospectus as being taken with us.  That was cleared up in an hour but rattled our cage.  As if all the packing, cleaning out, fixing up, moving into storage, moving into our son’s basement for a three month stay before moving to our next home, and the battle with AT&T U-verse over 3 cable boxes buried in a storage  unit  (another too-long story), wasn’t enough.

In the midst of all this my health issues continue.  There was the leg weakness which therapy was helping until I broke a bone in my left foot and had to wear a CAM boot for two months.  Only those of you who have been tortured by one of those boots can truly understand the discomfort.  The boot did help the foot (try packing a house up while in one!) and cured the sciatica on my left side but threw off my stride and worsened the problems on my right to the point I had to get a spinal epidural in July.  Now my doctors have scheduled some kind of test for my right leg later this month to see if all the problems aren’t caused by permanent nerve damage.  There were also the flare ups of lung infections par the course and two cataract surgeries thrown in for good measure.  It has been a perfect storm of bumps, potholes, minor mountains and low valleys.

Why am I telling you this in a writing blog?  Because no matter what hits you--a wave in the face or a tsunami, it will come to an end.  Things will go back to “normal.”  The human spirit is resilient.  We’ve only been here in our son’s (very nice) basement a little over a week but already my mind has turned back to writing.  Not full-force by any means as there are still too many other details meddling with my time but a start none the less.  I’ve managed to read a book that has given me a leg up on setting and timing.  I am determined to prove Cherry Adair wrong.  I went to her writing seminar in May in KC and got a lot of good ideas.  But she said if you’ve thought about or worked on a book for more than 6 months and not finished it, you should throw it out.  Book Five of the Honour series has been stewing a lot long than that!  I’m much more a proponent of all things in their time, which usually isn’t our time. Here’s hoping you’ve had smoother sailing than I this summer and wishes for a great writing fall!