Welcome to the end of February. Two months down for 2022. By now, most everyone has not only dropped their new year’s resolutions but forgotten what they were. The world has thrown a few more terrible events onto the dumpster fire, and if you’re anything like me, you feel distracted and a bit disheartened. Again. Because every week brings some new thing to protest or to overwhelm us or just to make us cry.
Have I lost a part of myself through the pandemic? Absolutely. I feel like I lost the part of me that is "woman." Not mom. Not wife. Woman. There was very little time for "me" through the hard times. It is instinctual for me to worry about everyone else first. I was a nurse by trade before having children, so once I traded in taking care of patients for taking care of my kids, I just transferred that need to care for others onto them. I need to make a conscious effort to do for me, which is where writing comes in. To complete a novel during a pandemic with feet constantly underfoot, I had to be disciplined on my writing and drink a LOT of coffee. The quiet times early in the morning or late at night usually the latter, I'm a night owl) is when I do my best thinking. I wrote my synopsis at 1 AM and a few edits with my editor later, it was ready to go. I wanted to thank you for the article about rejections. The constant theme of "trying" throughout all the stories resonated with me. Getting the rejection letters is tough. Like "I just want to crawl back under my covers" tough, BUT I'm trying. I am trying. And one of those nos will lead me to that yes.
Have I lost a part of myself through the pandemic? Absolutely. I feel like I lost the part of me that is "woman." Not mom. Not wife. Woman. There was very little time for "me" through the hard times. It is instinctual for me to worry about everyone else first. I was a nurse by trade before having children, so once I traded in taking care of patients for taking care of my kids, I just transferred that need to care for others onto them. I need to make a conscious effort to do for me, which is where writing comes in. To complete a novel during a pandemic with feet constantly underfoot, I had to be disciplined on my writing and drink a LOT of coffee. The quiet times early in the morning or late at night usually the latter, I'm a night owl) is when I do my best thinking. I wrote my synopsis at 1 AM and a few edits with my editor later, it was ready to go. I wanted to thank you for the article about rejections. The constant theme of "trying" throughout all the stories resonated with me. Getting the rejection letters is tough. Like "I just want to crawl back under my covers" tough, BUT I'm trying. I am trying. And one of those nos will lead me to that yes.