The Weary Traveler

We'll be spending a couple days in Ohio and Kentucky, so I've been checking the weather there recently. The weather there looks great, the 50's at night and low 80's during the day, if we were used to it. People always ask me, "how can you live in Florida, it's so hot there?" Let me tell you. I love it in Florida. I love the palm trees and the flowers. And the blue sky. I love walking outside at night and looking up at that gray sky and feeling like I can almost touch the stars that are twinkling back at me. I love the smell of orange blossoms and looking across the street at Crepe Myrtle lining the driveway. I love walking outside and being able to work in my flower bed in December while wearing shorts. That is the trade off. In the summer it is a little warmer here, but I don't have to shovel snow. I don't have to prepare the house for winter. Wash all the screens and replace them with storm windows every fall. I don't have to clean the lawn mower and have it serviced to "put away for the season". I don't have to stay inside because it's just too cold, or no one has plowed the driveway yet, so we couldn't get the car out of the garage if we wanted to. This summer has been wonderful. There have only been a couple days that my husband couldn't play golf. That's the way I rate the weather here in Florida. If it's too hot he only plays 9 holes. I have clothes stacked on the bed in the guest room and my husband walked past the door, checking on me. "What's all that?" he pointed. "Let me tell you." I said proudly pointing. "These are the clothes I'm wearing on the way, and this pile is the one to wear after we arrive." He shook his head. "Honey, it's still September." I nodded, "I know that." He scratched his head as he walked out of the room. "Do you really think you need gloves, tennis shoes, socks and a coat?"

GONE TO THE DOGS

My husband and I realized the other day that maybe we need to get a life. It would seem our lives now revolve around two little guys who have won our hearts. That would be Bailey and Meko. When either of us leave, the other one is calling to tell each other a funny story one of them just did. We don't like to go out to eat any more, because we can't take "the boys" with us. We arrange "play" dates with other dog owners and sit and watch our friends, who are just like ourselves, make fools of ourselves over our four legged friends. We have pictures of our dogs in our wallets. I have dog treats in my purse. We sign greeting cards that include our dogs names. My office wall is plastered with a calendar or pictures of Bailey or Meko. They are everywhere. The floor in the house is cluttered with stuffed animals or little dog chew toys. They have a basket at the end of the couch where all their toys are supposed to be. My husband and I finally admitted to each other we may be in trouble when friends stopped by the other night to see Meko. I told them to "sit-stay." My husband drug the ironing board out to press a pair of pants. My first reaction was to tell him what a "good boy" he is. But he beat me to the punch. When I made a comment about him ironing, he smiled at me and said, "I'm housebroken."

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

I'm not sure which is worse, getting ready to leave, or unpacking when you get home. We are always so excited about visiting family and friends and can't wait to get on the road. It seems to be taking longer every time we leave. I make lists of things to do, then I make lists for the things I've done and still need to do. I have lists of people I need to call and follow up calls I need to make before we leave. When we get home, I need to do the laundry, go through the mail and sleep.

It would seem there is a lot more preparation to leave than to come home. I don't have check lists when we come home.

My Dad will be 92 years old next week. I can't wait to see him. I miss him. I talk to him on the phone frequently, but it's not the same as sitting across the table from him. I haven't learned how to hug him thorough the phone yet either.

When I asked him if there was anything he had his eye on, he said don't buy me a thing. I just want you to be here. The older I get, the more I realize how important the little things in life are. When I was a teenager I had a wish list longer than my arm. The older I get the more I realize and appreciate time. That is, time someone gives to me. Whether it be a friend or family. When they make an effort to spare a few minutes of their time to share with me I appreciate it. Time isn't something you can buy. You can't hold it in your hand, nor can you display it somewhere. Yet time is a precious commodity. It's also a barometer, to me anyway. If someone loves me enough to spend an hour with me, to share lunch, or watch a movie, I feel truly blessed.

And yet time, doesn't "cost" anything. Maybe I'm just growing older and finally realize what the important things in life really are. If you want to impress me, tell me you spent an afternoon reading a book, the Bible, especially, to a friend in a nursing home. Tell me you visited your elderly next door neighbor with a plate of cookies and sat and just listened to them share their concerns. Tell me you volunteered at a soup kitchen. Then tell me how blessed you feel by that experience.

Funny how it works.

I opened my file yesterday containing my latest wip and discovered I haven't been in that file since July 18th. That's a long time to be away from the "people" I hold near and dear to my heart. I can only speak for myself, but when I'm working on a manuscript I become involved emotionally with the characters. When I'm away from them I miss them, actually find myself thinking about them. They are real to me. When I opened the file yesterday it took a while to familiarize myself with the plot again and to remember where I left the bad guy and what he was doing. When I started reading the manuscript and getting back into the scene I found myself excited with a new energy and new ideas.

I've read several books about putting a wip in a drawer for a while, but I have never done that until now. It wasn't a conscious effort, it was because we were leaving for vacation and I didn't take my lap top with us.

I wanted to see the world from a different perspective, not from that of a writer. When I have access to my computer ideas spin around in my head and I can't wait to put them down. I've become too lazy to write anything out by hand any more. It's so much quicker to type everything. While we were driving across country and I was taking in the beauty surrounding me, I felt myself relax and let the characters go. In other words they were on vacation too. Away from me.

Now that we are home I am reading my manuscript from different eyes. The characters seem new to me. I have a new found energy. Leaving the lap top at home was a good idea. I'm ready to tackle and hopefully finish this project within the next month.

What a great idea that was, leaving my manuscript in a drawer. I think it was Stephen King's. Do you think he knows what he's talking about?

JOY OR DISTRACTION

Working from home can be both a distraction but also very rewarding. I love what I do. I would rather write than eat, except chocolate of course.

When people say to me, "how can you write all the time?" I think to myself, how can I not? If I'm not at the computer writing, I have pen in hand and am jotting something on paper for my next article.

The past few weeks we have been on vacation and I didn't have my laptop. I went into withdrawal. I woke up in the middle of the night with the next scene from my latest work in process. I created a story line, plot, for the next book in the series. I couldn't wait to get back to my little office and my computer.

This morning when I got up, made coffee, took a shower, and then met my husband for breakfast, I fully intended to come home and start working. We dropped my car off to be serviced, but when I finally got home it was time to take the dogs out. I checked my email and had to answer a couple emails. When I tried to start working, it was then I realized one of the down sides to working at home. In every office I have ever worked in when you have computer problems, you call the computer guy/girl. They come to your office and you are back in business. When you work from home, ya gotta figure it out yourself.

My husband left to play golf after breakfast. He only played nine holes today, but he was home before I got the computer fixed. When he walked in the door he realized all was not well. Isn't there a saying that goes something like this, "happy wife, happy life?" He knew I wasn't happy. I finally gave in and called my computer guy. He said "sure, bring it in." Before I did that, I tried one more thing and viola! It worked. Now it's 6:36 p.m. and I'm ready to turn the computer off and relax this evening.

It's one of those days when I'm thinking was today rewarding or a distraction? I learned something from my experience today. Everyday is not going to be productive. Everyday does not run like clock work. Did I get a lot done today? No, I didn't. Am I going to beat myself up? No, I'm not. I'm going to get up in the morning, thank the Lord that I have a computer and the privilege of working from home. I'm going to do the best I can and hope for the best. If nothing else, it gave me fodder for this blog.

I took the puppy to the groomer this morning, just to familiarize him with them. I don't want him to be traumatized the way Bailey always has been. When I came home, I planted a couple bushes and replaced a few flowers in one of the containers out back. Some of the weeds in the flower beds out front needed attention too. I realized how quiet the house was. We are dog sitting this week, so we went from one to three. While I was outside it occurred to me this is what I used to do when my children took naps. I would sneak outside to do things I couldn't do with them in tow. I'm also reminded of the places in my mind I like to resort to when I'm stressed or just tired. I think about walking on a long deserted beach. The waves slapping against my feet and the only sounds I hear are the seagulls calling out overhead and dropping down preying on an occasional fish, and the roar of the ocean. The spray from the ocean along with the breeze cools my body as I walk along alone on the beach. It is then that I am reminded I am not alone. I picked up the puppy and brought him home. The house is buzzing once again with three dogs chasing each other and barking.

VACATION

My husband used to tell me that everyday was the weekend. That is, when you are retired. I suppose you could also say that everyday is like a vacation. In other words, you don't have a schedule to speak of. You don't have to set the alarm. You don't really have to be any where at a certain time. You can plan your meals around when you are hungry, not when some one else can cover for you at the office. I suppose there are a lot of advantages to being retired. I used to day dream when I was on vacation, just what it would be like to retire. I envisioned retirement like an extended vacation. I could imagine what it would be like to sit in a rocker on the front porch of a log cabin over looking the lake. The sun glinting off the water, birds chirping in the trees and the rush of water emptying into the lake from the mountain behind me. There were buffalo grazing in the meadow below and prong horned antelope looping in a herd by themselves. The rungs of the rocker creaked as I rocked back and forth taking in the sweet smell of the wild flowers before me. Retirement isn't exactly as I had envisioned it. I wake about 5:30 a.m., make coffee. Sort laundry and throw the first load into the washer. Unload the dishwasher, go outside to fetch the morning paper. Boot up the computer and the day begins. By 8:30 I have several loads of laundry finished, the house is clean, and I've pounded out about 500 words on my latest work in progress. I wave to my husband as he heads off the the golf course, I finish folding clothes and putting them away. Run the sweeper and dust. Back to the computer to update my blog and web site and then back to my manuscript. I walk to the mail box, and check the mail. I wash doggy nose prints off the window in my office and then stand with the freezer door open, trying to decide on dinner. I prepare dinner, set the table, save my work for the day and wait for my hubby to return home. We eat dinner, I clean the kitchen and then we retire to the family room together. Ah, retirement. Nope, it's not what I expected at all. I think it's better.

I got the brilliant idea to stop at Starbucks for my favorite, Venti Chi Cream Frappuccino a few nights ago. We were on our way home from Denver and we stopped for the night in Alexandria, Louisiana. That night will remain embedded in my memory for a long time. It's funny now, but neither of us were laughing that night. We found a hotel, but were both so tired we decided to find something to eat and fuel for the car before we actually settled in. We found a gas station a few blocks from the hotel, but we were both so tired of fast food I decided to go to Kroger's and try to put something together back in our room. That particular Kroger's had a Starbucks inside. I found food to prepare, checked out, stopped at Starbucks and headed back outside to the car where my husband was waiting. One of the issues we deal with on the road is not every hotel is "pet friendly". Even in the evening it has been too hot to leave Bailey in the car, so one of us goes shopping while the other one walks Bailey. When I got back to the car my husband shared his story about the homeless person who tried to extort money from him. We headed back to the hotel and realized we were lost. My husband couldn't find the receipt with the address on it, so we drove around for about an hour trying to find our hotel. By 11:15 we were so tired and frustrated, neither of us was hungry. I think my husband ate an apple. I sipped away at my Chi tea, not realizing how much caffeine it contained. At 4:15 a.m. I finally fell asleep. We woke at 7 a.m. and loaded the car, ready for another day. I think last night when we crossed over the Florida state line, most of the residents could hear me clicking my heels. There's no place like home, there's no place like home!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNA

Jenna wakes up every morning with a smile on her face, and tells me, "I'm happy Nana." What a great outlook. Her joy and enthusiasm rubs off on me and in fact everyone around her. How can you be sad when she is bouncing around the house telling everyone she's happy. When she came downstairs this morning her Daddy had a surprise for her. He stayed up until after midnight last night blowing up balloons. The living room was full of balloons. Jenna was jumping and running and yelling. Then she turned to all of us and said, "it's my birthday, I've got the power"! When her Daddy asked her what she wanted for breakfast, she said "birthday cake." I have no idea what's in store for me the rest of the day, but I have a feeling there won't be a nap for Nana in it!