A Week’s Vacation Wasn’t in My Plan

I finished the draft of my novel last week. Even so, I didn’t plan to refrain from writing for nearly a week, but that’s how it played out. Granted, I spent several days at my daughter’s house and she kept me so busy that by the time we got home each night, I was too exhausted to think, much less drag my laptop out of its case, shlep a TV tray upstairs and plug the thing in. But here I am, sunburnt, surrounded by my cats and getting back into my normal routine; except that instead of writing, I’ll be editing and revising for the next few months. I might even keep the promise I made to myself to finish some of the projects that are already on my plate!

But first, I really must kvell. My amazing, talented, incredible daughter gave me the most phenomenal weekend ever. She cooked a delicious dinner on Friday night complete with chocolate lava cake. On Saturday, we went to a chocolate festival, a pow wow, the zoo and Old Town (yes, all in one day which began rather early for me!). Sunday started with brunch with Shamu followed by a day of wandering around Sea World (I swear, she kept running me around in circles just for fun!), riding rides, getting soaked by evil, hose wielding villains, watching shows, visiting with the animals, booping the rays, (did you know they’re really soft?) tasting some delicious food festival treats and meeting the executive chef behind it all. We finished the day with pizza and salad from her favorite pizza place, Pieology while watching a movie which never really lived up to the hype.

Once again, my normal schedule got all out of whack as I got moving earlier and went to bed earlier than normal (hence the void where my writing should have been). But all that is about to change! Once again, it is after midnight and I’ve set my fingers on the keyboard.

Making New Commitments to Myself

Now that the cruise is behind us and the best Mother’s Day weekend ever is as well, I am making a couple of new commitments to myself. First, I will get back on my three days a week or more gym schedule. Second, I will begin revising Frederick the Gentlemouse before embarking on the much larger project currently known as Sasha’s Journey. Third, I will either pitch or write blog posts for other people. I haven’t yet set myself a weekly minimum, but as time passes and I get a feel for the time required, I will do so. Fourth, I will start pulling up the disgusting carpet in my bedroom which has been the last holdout for a very long time. If further decluttering occurs in the process, so be it.

That should be enough to keep me busy for awhile. I’ve learned that if we put too much on our plates, we overwhelm ourselves and nothing gets done, or it gets done, but only half-assed. I aim for quality rather than quantity.

Expectations Ruin Holidays for Everyone

When my mother was alive, I referred to holidays at her house as “command performances”. She would invite us, but it wasn’t one of those things where you could beg off because you had other plans. Declining the invitation was not an option unless you wanted to hear about your lack of gratitude for months to come. Needless to say, I came to dread those occasions and, in hindsight, ruined my share of them with my own crappy attitude.

But some good did come of the experience. I endeavored to ensure that my own daughters never felt that they had to celebrate a holiday with me nor were they ever obligated to give a gift. With the exception of certain things like funerals, I’ve always believed that we should participate willingly or not at all. Then, you have my daughter, Heather.

Heather developed a love of celebrations. She will celebrate just about anything and when she does, she puts her heart, soul and creative talent into making it as wonderful as possible. I believe I mentioned that she’s been planning my 60th for at least five years! There are many memorable birthdays and Mother’s Days as a result of her celebratory nature. My personal favorite is still the multi-course breakfast-in-bed she and her sister prepared with the crowning glory of a microwaved grilled cheese sandwich (they were too young to use the stove unsupervised).

The common theme to all of our celebrations is silliness. There is always an enormous element of fun woven into the festivities. Whether its a weekend like the one just past or a party at our favorite dance club or anything in between, the parties are meant to please not only the person being feted, but everyone involved, and my talented daughter achieves this each and every time.

I have maybe two weeks before the celebrations begin again, this time for about a month as we have several things to celebrate. Guess I’d better get going on those intentions so they’re solidly in place before the insanity begins!

My gratitudes tonight are:
1. I am grateful for a truly delightful weekend with my daughter and grand furries.
2. I am grateful that the sunburn I acquired from two days in the sun without sunblock (my own fault) is not painful. I’m also grateful that both my daughter and I keep aloe body butter in the house.
3. I am grateful to be embarking on a new part of my journey.
4. I am grateful for surprises. New things come to me fairly regularly now, and the challenge is in picking which ones I want to do first.
5. I am grateful for abundance; love, friendship, exercise, sunshine, rain, creativity, motivation, inspiration, joy, health, harmony, peace, prosperity and philanthropy.

Blessed Be

And now for some shameless self-promotion:
I’d love it if you’d visit my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SheriLevensteinConawayAuthor?ref=aymt_homepage_panel and my website, www.shericonaway.com. I’ve created these pages as a means of positive affirmation and would be very grateful if you’d “like” them or leave a comment! Thank you!