A Few Days Off; A Few Off Days

It’s been a weekend that started early and has just hours left. We hosted the Honor Guard Banquet last night, and it was a beautiful night. I’m proud to sit by my husband’s side and support his endeavors. He is a much happier retiree when he is busy. We both are. We’ve been lucky to find groups we can support and further their efforts to make the world a better place.

Of course, being human, there are little dust ups that get in the way. We are usually over tired when that happens. Most of the time, there are no problems. After losing so many friends last year and three so far this year, I tell myself, “I’ll miss this someday.” Because my friends who lost husbands last year told me so. I know I will miss it someday. I cannot imagine. Life does not prepare you for it. “Live Like You Are Dying,” has never rung truer in our lives than right now.

That said, I am reflecting on my writing today. Just about the time I think I have a schedule down, things change and I use my time up. I couldn’t fit everything in the last couple days. Whoever thinks retirement is boring needs to become involved in life. Get to living.

I know of people who sit on the couch and wither away. They have no purpose after the job. Possibly a job they hated, but it paid the bills, so they kept at it. They may have been unhappy all their lives. The world is at their fingertips and they won’t venture out. Out of their comfort zone; their safety net of monotony. Sad. I have so many things I want to do, writing, hobbies, learn to draw, and not enough time. How to get it all in?

I need to learn to pace myself. That may involve a couple of things. Devote one day a week to every task I want to do. I know I’ve said this before, and it’s hard to implement. Life gets in the way often. We will have family in town this week for a funeral and wake; that will affect our getting things done. This most likely will not be the week to implement a change in schedule like that.

This will be a week to do what we can and enjoy family. I can take some time to work out some schedule changes in my mind. I want to enjoy as much as I can for as long as I can. With a big birthday coming up in May, I have to think about these things. I imagine everyone feels they have a lot of time left; one can only hope. The reality appears to be we don’t have all the time in the world. I have way too much to do.

I remind myself the sky is the limit to what we can do. We have to be dedicated to our goals and act accordingly. Let’s do this. Action, not reaction. Have a beautiful day, get some fresh air, and we’ll see each other tomorrow.

Suddenly Saturday Again!

There is a lot going on here at the Home Office at Raabe Ranch. I need to make a list about making a list, and categorizing everything we need to do in the next week. Not only are there blogs to write, I vow to begin again on my novel, The Freeing of Katie Fitzgibbons.

I know the story will come back to me, after all, I lived with it the whole time I learned to craft the chapters, scenes, character development, and all sorts of things. Sam Tyler is not only my friend, but I hired her last summer and fall as my book coach. She does a marvelous job. I learned so much from her about good writing. She is tough, but very respectful about it. She won’t dash your hopes; to the contrary, she will encourage them along with your confidence. It’s worth the fee. We met at a Nebraska Writers Guild Conference over a year ago. That was before COVID. Here is her contact info if you would like to learn more about her. After an intense summer and fall of hard work, I took one month off (December) and somehow it extended into January, 2021. That’s OK.

I have a 2 p.m. Masterclass today about “The Build a Better Brand Method.” I need to update my “About Me” information. It’s necessary to build a community and a following. I’ve experimented with Tags and Categories, and since I started to blog about being on the Keto Diet, I’ve gained a lot of followers just on that point alone. Whether that’s good or bad, I’m not sure. I have nearly 300 followers for the blog alone. I’m happy with that, since I started at zero nearly two years ago.

Any part of life is dynamic, you never reach a static existence except maybe in death. Nothing happens much after that on this earth. We must change with the times about some things. Communication, actions, networking. All of the brand building is simply 2021 talk for marketing. So there we go. No one talks marketing any more, although that is what we do. I’m interested in finding out how to do that. Since I’m an Indie Author, I need to learn about all of these things. I would learn about them even if I had an agent and a publishing company interested in me. I may look one once I publish a couple books on my own, but I do enjoy this whole process.

The future is ahead of all of us. From this point on, I believe I can pick and choose where this career will take me. The opportunities are about the best they’ve ever been, and the authors I’ve met are all generous people who seem to genuinely want to help each other. Many creatives are like this. They are particular about their circle of people, and will help in any way they can. It amazes me.

How are you spending your present and your future? Are you thrilled to wake every day and do something you love? I’m there, and it’s just too bad I can’t be at a desk, sewing machine, or an easel for longer periods of time. I’d probably be a creating machine! It’s ok, we all can only do what wee do. At any moment, a person my age could have a stroke or another medical mishap and not be able to create anymore. That would seriously hurt me no end. I’m praying for good health and longevity together. Hope springs eternal.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading today. I hope it’s a beautiful day for you. Be kind, be safe, be on the lookout. Help someone out. See you tomorrow!