This has become a busy time of year for me. I’m writing and editing (yay, new projects!), I’m in the middle of a few workshops (yay, new skills!), I’ve got a story out for submission (yay, new anxiety!), I’m officiating football games (yay, cardio!), and I’m applying for jobs (yay, new rejections!). So it’s a mix of good and bad. I’m happy to be busy–but dealing with rejection is always stressful. And when the government shuts down, meaning there was concern that my wife would not be getting a paycheck, well, that just added to the stress.
In other words, it’s not an environment that is exactly conducive to creativity. I have a story idea for NaNoWriMo, but I’m having trouble working through all the details. And I’m struggling to come up with short story ideas. Basically, the stress is drying up the creative well.
So I’m glad Laura and I got away this weekend to an OBG Cocker Spaniel Rescue fundraiser–OBG (or “Oldies But Goodies”) is the organization from where we adopted Scotch. It was held out on a farm a couple hours away from us. It was nice to put everything on hold for a while and get outside to have some fun with our dog, play with others, and raise money for a good cause. And, as you can see below, Autumn has come to Virginia.
And on Columbus Day, Laura and I went up to Delaware to visit her parents. Similarly, it was nice to get away for a while. To press pause, relax, and get a change of scenery. If nothing else, that pause is great for taking a breath after all the craziness here in DC. At best, it will help recharge my creative batteries. NaNoWriMo is right around the corner after all.