…and I am VERY glad! Where to begin?
For the curious among you, my first holiday destination was Cancun, Mexico. It was just in time for hurricane season, I’m told, but we only saw rain twice and both times it was at night after we had shutdown for the evening. Sweltering hot too, but in the end, very enjoyable.
The trip to Mexico has proven to me that people can share the same system of measurement and still not really resemble each other in many ways. Little things like speed limits, for example. Suffice it to say that the Mexican way of life is substantially different than the Canadian one and we can leave it at that.
The second portion of the holiday was driving from Calgary to Northern BC for a wedding. Three 7 hour driving segments. It was almost too much. Some very beautiful country though. We’re already planning a return trip with our RV next year or the following.
So, with all this vacationing, how much writing did I manage? In a word, none.
I decided to actually try and do some reading for a change. It has been a while since I’ve been able to pick up a book that isn’t job related and simply read for the pleasure of it. I also wanted to just sit back and do nothing… it has been a LONG time since I have not been multitasking for both work and home during my every waking moment. It was very weird to shutdown.
In fact, it took me about a week before the shakes wore off and I was able to think about nothing but the moment.
That was an important experience for me. I’ve been so busy planning and executing plans that I haven’t really slowed down enough to see what’s really going on around me. I’ve been missing out on some of the little things, like my kids growing up.
Funny how a break can bring things into perspective, isn’t it?
I always make sure I spend time with my family, but if your mind isn’t there with you, what are you missing? For me, it was that my daughter is swiftly becoming a very intelligent and beautiful young lady who makes good decisions. It was also that my son is an inquisitive and energetic little boy who likes having his dad around.
The things I’ve been missing.
I’ve also come back with the realization that my first book might need a little work. I’ve often heard it said that you need to step away from the work for a while and then come back to it to see its flaws. That also means you need to let it leave you mind completely too. I hadn’t done that. Now I have and there are some things I can do to make it even better than it already is.
Yup, the holiday definitely was needed and provided the mental (if not physical) rest I truly needed. I saw lots of new things that I can incorporate into my writing and got in touch with some things I was overlooking too.
Revitalized? Oh yes! I am definitely back.
