A Return To Form…
Good morning everyone!
Man I can’t tell you how good it feels to be back to something akin to normal. This last week, what a Greco-Roman Cluster. Seriously. First, I get violently ill on Sunday. Then, my son goes to the hospital, where he stays for two days. Then my wife gets violently ill. Then I have to keep Ryan home, while sick, because he has to wait a day to go back to daycare. I never took a day off work. This entire time, I have been showing up day in and day out at the day job. Trip to the hospital, right back to work. Take care of Riley Bear, squeezing in phone calls and what not when I can. My sister saved the day as far as that goes, coming in to let me get some work done.
I started the week, Monday, with the aspiration that I would edit / write 500 – 750 words on Temple every single day, regardless of what I was doing blog wise or life wise. Then, Life delivered a firm message that it will not be ignored. It was good in it’s own way. Writing is what I want to do with my life, crafting stories something that I find infinite promise and reward in. I look forward, giddily, to the prospect of slowly becoming a fantastic wordsmith over the years. However, during that time, I will still be a father and a husband.
A friend recently shared a story Stephen King shared in the early Aughts. He told the simple story of his desk, at which he wrote. When he first made it big, he had promised himself that the would go from the small, rickety affair he had began at to a gigantic land-shark of a desk. He sat, isolated, wrapped in his own work and own pleasures, writing while keeping his family at bay. Apparently, that was an enormous mistake, and one which he regrets severely. He changed the spot for his desk into the corner of a family room, where his children would join him from time to time. He would cease his work, and take those times to spend with his children.
That’s the real message I got this week. Yes, I will be an author. I have the right combination of desire and BLOODY MINDED STUBBORNNESS which is required to make it work. However, I have to realize that in the end, writing is simply what I do. Being a father? That’s who I am. My son is a priority. My health is a priority. Taking time away to care for my family, to care for myself, and to care for the job which puts bread on the table does not mean that I am no longer an author. In fact, it means the opposite: It means that I have the tools to make this work long term. It is precisely because I am able to shift focus onto important matters and then snap back into author mode when it’s time to do so that I will climb the ranks while maintaining a healthy balance with what matters most.
I’ll have more story Monday. I’m digging what I’m doing with Mind Like a Hive. And I certainly enjoy the backstory. It’s super fun to write! I’ve got ideas on what to write, and how to write it. I kind of work on stories in my noggin in between writing sessions. I hear that is a keen trait for good authors to develop, so I’ll gladly keep on keeping on. I have other ideas that I will rotate to when Mind is over. In particular, I have a fantastic one which hit me full force in slumberland, and I managed to get enough of it down on paper that I can make something of it. I’m excited!
Everyone, thank you. Thank you for coming here even when I haven’t been able to do anything this week. Thank you for supporting me. I will always be eternally grateful that someone, anyone, is interested in what I have to say, and the stories I have to tell.
Gratefully,
Justin
