I typically write in the mornings, but I’ve been putting this off all day. I know writing helps but the words have been hard to come by lately in my brain which feels full to capacity. And that’s life lately – full and hard.
I am seated in my midwest sunroom where it’s storming hard out the windows. These days always make me want to curl up in a blanket and watch movies, but I have a really long to-do list and did I mention it’s later than I wanted to get started today? But I write in the mornings, even if life lately has felt like a lot.
I’ve been talking with a few of my writer friends about what happens to our words in times like these, like when the family member lands in the hospital or a loved one is in need of long term care, or when the campaign needs launching and the client calls never stop and somebody has to do the laundry.
When I was whining about my lack of words-on-paper, my friend Jordan (who just finished her YA manuscript!!!) encouraged me with this:
So in this time of life being hard and full I am clinging to the hope that one of these days the groove to write will come back.
Here are some of the other things I’ve been doing lately INSTEAD of writing:
- It’s GALA SEASON for the nonprofit world, and we’ve been producing a huge volume of fundraising videos over at KCC. This has meant spending long days on set hearing hard + heart-wrenching stories, and long nights in the editing suite turning those stories into heart-warming videos that inspire donors to dig deep. It’s meaningful work! And it’s exhausting.
- My brother is recovering from a TBI after being hit by a car going 30-40mph. You can follow along on his progress here. He spent nearly 40 days in the hospital regaining connection from his brain to body, and is making good strides toward healing from the brain shearing caused by the crash. It’s been a lot for Micah to go through, but our family has rallied and I’ve valued the time spent with my brother lately.
- I just finished the new Kristin Hannah novel The Four Winds, even though I only started it on Friday. With this being a book about the hardships Americans endured during the Great Depression, I could not put it down. The story centers on one family’s fight to make it from their dying farm that threatens to kill them daily, through the Dust Bowl and the Mojave Desert to reach greener pastures in California, a land they’d expected to be flowing with milk and honey but that brought a whole new level of destitution. I am fascinated by the resiliency of the characters in this story and somehow reading it now feels comforting, as many Americans face the loss of their unemployment benefits while good paying jobs are still hard to come by. Feels like we’ve not come all that far in the past 90 years in terms of how we care for the poorest people in our country.
- I had a friend break up with me! That’s right, during a global pandemic I’ve had not one but TWO friends let me know just how crappy of a job I’m doing at being their friend. No matter how painful this was to process, as a recovering people pleaser I always welcome feedback! This time I turned it into a story I wrote over on Medium, so I guess I did eek out some words during this time I’ve been “not writing” (and somehow it felt more official to write on Medium than writing here, even though anyone can share their stories there?). Check it out: Think You’re A Bad Friend? Maybe You Just Have Bad Boundaries and let me know if this is something you struggle with, too!
- And finally, I’ve been working round the clock to launch GirlCreative’s 6k for 6 Years Fundraiser! If you’re interested in supporting our cause, you can donate now until June 7th. Every dollar we raise will help further our mission of uniting creative women under the umbrella of friendship in the Twin Cities: because coming out of this pandemic we need connection now more than ever. It is weird to be “the face” of a group that represents so many women, but I’m grateful for the chance to share our organization’s heart and invite others into the future of GirlCreative. Maybe if we hit 3k by the weekend I’ll release the blooper reel!
I’m still working on my memoir, but it’s in fits and spurts until I can get back to the island for a chunk of uninterrupted writing time. Oooh. Maybe I’ll write about the island where I write next time I’m here!
No matter how hard or busy life lately seems, I know my hope, peace, and even my sanity are not to be found in words on paper or a finished book or a clearer schedule or more hours in the day. Because of God, I know there can be contentment in the here and now.
So that’s what’s new with me – what’s new with you? What are you writing? Link me to your latest in the comments, and I will read it later while I’m supposed to be writing!!!!