It’s December. As of today we have been staying-in-place for nine months–on my calendar our last day out was March 13…so. We’ve missed celebrating holidays at Mass, celebrating birthdays and holiday with family. Yeah, yeah, we are all in the same boat. What a gawd awful prospect, because we’re not. but that is a rant for another time.
We have Zoomed, FaceTimed, GoogleMeet-ed and it’s not enough, truly. So we partied in our garage. We had a tree, lights, decorations, music. We distanced. We wore masks. There were no hugs.
I’ve been taking a break. Sending out submissions until the middle of November, getting one request for a full. Still, the holidays and all. I’ve been writing a short story for a SinC anthology for the Carolinas, the theme is music and that was helpful in kickstarting my brain. No the short story needs some tweaking, but being creative is a boost for me.
Our life is exhausting, at least for me. Yes, we have food, shelter, we are safe and secure in our little bubble. Taking care of someone who is well aware they are losing their ability to communicate, to move well requires more grace than I sometimes think is available—I feel like my guardian angel is working triple time just to keep our heads above water. It is only my faith and that guardian angel, poor dear, who has had my lifetime of hard work, that make this workable, gets me up every morning, helps me face a day that is more challenging than anything, anything I have ever done. So when a new idea comes to me, a new universe to explore, to write about that is a good thing.
The thing is, this is the second time, the first is out for submission, that I have taken a book written ten or twelve years ago and been able to reimagine, reinvent the characters, give the MC a new voice, because I now have a different voice.
Happy Christmas! We wish you all the blessings of the season, the grace and peace and joy that comes with faith. Write on!