My brain right now
My life is a little chaotic right now.
I have a backlog of stories for work. (I’m a working journalist at floodlightnews.org) I have pages of my novel in progress to write, critique and revise through a writing workshop. And then there are the bills, daily duties of raising children and the overall state of my house (my laundry pile is truly impressive).
If I ever had any doubt that chaos begets chaos (I don’t) those doubts were laid to rest last night when my Lyft driver’s app misdirected him multiple times to my house, to the point I had to guide my driver, turn by turn. Then at the grocery, a woman backed into me while I was backing out, and implied that it was my fault (it wasn’t).
There’s more, but you get the gist. It is probably a combination of the full moon, the lunar eclipse and Halloween, but I’m kind of afraid to leave my house right now.
I’m taking these things as signs to slow down and prune my “must do” list. So, while I’m finishing this writing workshop, I’m going to pause Brash Midlife until next year. I hate to do it, but it’s the only thing in my life that isn’t mandatory. I’m sure you all understand because I’m sure that most of your lives are chaotic too.
Good luck to all of us in managing it through the holidays. See you in 2024!
Pam
Same here. Although for me it always seems to come down to the fact that I have been fortunate enough in my life to make my own choices for the most part. I mean, really, really fortunate, as I watch what is going on in the world and see and meet more and more people who have not been able to do this. Somehow it puts the chaos into perspective. For the most part anyway. BTW I am LOVING your Sunday blogs here, my Friend!
Dear Pam, I have enjoyed your comments as a Woolfer, and I enjoy this very much too. Yes, sometimes there are times when chaos reigns. I have an acquaintance, 80 years old, who had covid, followed by some other medical ailment, and when he was finally better, a kitchen cabinet fell off the wall unexpectedly, fell on his head, and gave him a concussion. Hey, at least he is retired! When I am facing chaos and just want to hide under the bed, I approach things very deliberately: I set the kitchen timer for 20 minutes and say, “I will fold and put away laundry for 20 minutes” or “I will address this kitchen mess for 20 minutes only.” For some reason this has always worked for me. And 20 minutes seems to be key, because it is not too long. It even worked with my academic writing, though I usually signed up for a second 20 minutes. Keep us posted on Facebook, if you can.