Life's Unexpected Turns

You know, I have the best of intentions about this blog. I truly don't plan to have two or more weeks go by between entries!

One of the things that keeps making me forget to update my blog is life's unexpected-ness. Ever hear the saying, "If you want to hear God laugh, just tell Him/Her your plans?"

Here's another version: "Every time I pick up a pencil to plan my life, God gives the table a good shake." (This from fellow writer, Bill Kritlow.)

My last three weeks have included a trip to visit inlaws, my husband's six-day trip for work, a BBQ related to his work, dance lessons, registering my children for fall activities, and to top it all off, a torn shoulder ligament.

That last one turned a magnifying glass on my daily life. For three days, I could do little but lay in my recliner and try not to move. It gave me time to think about what keeps my days so busy. It also gave me time to just enjoy being . . . or at least as much enjoyment as one can have while in pain. I feel like the enforced rest gave me a chance to catch up with myself, as it were.

Instead of going flat-out continuously, I spent three days living in the moment, just getting from one hour to the next.

I feel like I reconnected with my soul. I didn't have any life-alterning revelations. I just spent time with myself. I enjoyed it.

I think I'll make an appointment to do it again . . . this time without the pain.

Looking at a Storm

Being a writer is an abyssmally sedentary occupation, so I try to begin each day with some exercise. I've found this is one of the best things, so far, about living in the town of Cold Lake -- taking a walk is so much more interesting than in the city.
For example, this morning my dog, Mystery, and I went for a walk in the provincial campground that borders our subdivision. It's near the end of camping season, so there wasn't much activity.
Except, that is, for the wind soughing through the trees and the waves splashing on the shoreline. This campground is on the edge of the body of water for which our town is named, and the personality of the lake is beginning to impact my daily life.
Before moving here, the advance of rainy weather always troubled me. For one thing, I'm solar powered. When I get exposure to lots of sunshine, I'm happy, energetic, and ready to take on anything. Take away my sunshine, and I wilt.
The other thing about approaching rain that I used to hate is the wind. In a typical city, you can hear the wind whirling around buildings, creating strange noises, and in my case, creating just a general feeling of unsettled-ness.
But out here, on the edge of the wilderness, the wind feels natural. I not only feel it, but I also hear it in the trees. There's something oddly soothing to me about the wind in the trees.
And then there's the waves. They were building some impressive whitecaps this morning, and even beginning to crash a bit on the beach. The build-up to today's expected rain felt right, completely natural.
Which brings to mind what's never far from any of our thoughts these days -- the devastation wreaked in the Gulf States by Hurricane Katrina. That's nature gone on a rampage, and something I wish I never had to hear about ever again. The toll in human suffering, the thought of the lives completely uprooted and forever wounded, is more than I can bear to contemplate for long.
Yet there's a lesson in there for me. My creativity can be a force for inspiration or for destruction, depending on how I use it. I can create images of horror, concentrating on the worst the human nature is capable of. Or I can create images of redemption, showing how Grace is bigger than man's depravity.
Just like the stories from the southern US of people risking their lives, extending themselves beyond what it seems a mere human is capable of just to provide safety and solace to those who've lost everything -- those stories give us hope, give us a sense that life is still worthwhile in spite of nature's capricious destruction.
That's what I want to do with my stories . . . provide inspiration and comfort to those for whom daily life contains more challenge than they want to face. Just like the sight of a butterfly can stop my children's play while they observe the wonder, so I want my stories to give "a pause that refreshes" to those who read.

Author, wife, mother and quilter 

The First Day

Today is a big day for us . . . my youngest child begins school full time. I spent literally hours yesterday labelling everything, right down to the last pencil crayon (at the school's request). Made me wonder what I was thinking when I gave my children multi-syllabic names!

This also means a new beginning for me . . . the beginning of an opportunity to focus daily on my writing. I have three novels in various forms of beginning, and for months now, I've been looking forward to being able to work seriously and consistently on them.

So what are my greatest enemies as I face this change?

#1 - Perfectionism
#2 - Distraction by what seems urgent
#3 - Not taking time to nurture my soul

Stay tuned, and I'll explore these themes in greater detail in the days to come.