catching up

Loose Chicken Stephanie here.

I haven't been writing; not sure why. It seems such a fertile time to record thoughts, feelings, experience. Came across a piece Margie gave me a couple of months ago about using the kitchen timer as a writer's aid. During a "writing hour" you set the timer, then allow no interruptions. No phone (easy), no email checking (harder), no internet. At all. The only documents you may have open are your current project and your journal. Certainly there are internet temptations. It's right here on the same machine. Fantasy Baseball, my great time waster since April, is calling every time games are being played, which is part of every day.

But more than that, it's getting over some kind of inertia, I think. This blog is like a journal, not completely private but pretty private. So far only Dave and I know about it, and we will probably keep it that way. That's what I've assumed so far. These posts are not for the world; they are for me, and for Dave.

So July has been a month of shape-shifting. Gradually shedding the parish ministry identity (again), supporting Mom as she becomes increasingly independent, setting up the business details of our new house (and there are so many of these), stripping wallpaper, doing yoga (literal shape shifting!).

Tonight we are going to have dinner with Jory and Jeb and Gretchen. We did this two years ago also in July, and I'm realizing ruefully that we were in the same place, having just shed parish ministry and intending to take a break to see what might emerge. What emerged all too quickly last time was two more years of church. Yes, it was not solo ministry and no, I don't regret it. Last time, just as Work Less, Live More predicted, was kind of a practice departure from church life. Now we get another change, and perhaps we're more ready this time. Or less likely to be tempted back before the experiment really takes root.

Our copies of Walden arrived the other day. I hadn't realized Thoreau died when he was only 44. He went into the woods at 30. His writing was not much appreciated while he was alive, but became influential later, and remains so. You never know.

Here is my baby step beginning at writing again. I will try to do *something* every day, with the possible exception of our travel days to Otter Lake. We're leaving Sunday!! Will be lovely to go back to that clean air, cooler weather (hopefully) and our wonderful all ours cottage. By next Tuesday we should be there. Wahoo!!

Meanwhile, a new commitment to write.