The "It's Been a Doozy of a Time" Part of the Writing Life

Hello, dear readers. It has been a LONG time since I've shared something here in this space. 

Flowers that Brought My Mom Joy
Gifted by Loved Ones, K & H

As the title of this post implies, it's been a doozy of a time since I queued up my last guest posts (in May!) and since I've contributed my own posts (in January and February!) 

I'm pretty sure I've not gone this long between posts before -- and I'm pretty sure I've not had so many events in my life tugging at my heartstrings and occupying my time as this past several months has "provided." 

Over the past few months, the gifts of "real life" have been giving a little more fully for me than the gifts of fiction. And so, I have tried my best to be present for real life, knowing that for every time there is a season, and for this past several months, the season, for me, has been more about living in real life than writing about life.  

Each of these events could fill an entire blog post, but for now, I'll just give a quick snippet rundown of what life has looked like for me since my last post in May: 

-My youngest child graduated from college.

-Our family of four (my husband and I, and our two grown kids) traveled overseas to share time together and celebrate the aforementioned college graduation.

-My husband and I celebrated our 36th wedding anniversary with a trip up to Whidbey Island, with a side-visit to see a dear friend and her beloved grandchildren in the Seattle area.

Upon our return home from that trip, my life went very topsy-turvy: 

-My mom, who has had a long list of health issues, and whom I have closely cared for for many, many years came to stay at our home on a Tuesday, during what looked like another challenging health journey in which I did not feel she was well-enough to stay in her home by herself, and exactly one week later (and a lifetime of living in between), my mom passed away in my home, with loving family by her side. 

-The next several weeks were spent attending to my mom's affairs, including cleaning out her apartment before month's end. 

-My sister and I finished the very last of my mom's apartment move out / clean out needs at about midnight on a Friday. By mid-day the very next day, I was on the road up to the Seattle area (about 4 hours from my home) to pick up my dear friend (the one I had visited earlier), who had had an unexpected illness and hospitalization, and took her back home with me to recuperate after her hospitalization. 

-About two weeks later, my friend returned to her own home, and my husband and I took a respite break to our home in Central Oregon. I worked diligently on some remote get-out-the vote work, such as text banking during that "respite break." 

-We returned home to vote and to continue with several more days of intense get-out-the vote work. 

-And then the election happened -- which knocked me for a very big loop. 

In the weeks since the election, I've walked around feeling like a bit of a zombie and done my best to engage in some self-care: 

I've taken long walks. I've fed my family. I've gone out to listen to a bunch of live music (to soothe my soul and to support local businesses and local artists). I've helped a friend whose own parent became ill, entered into Hospice, and just passed away. I've spent time with family, including my dad (long divorced from my mom), who just celebrated his 80th birthday. I've read books.

And, at long last, I've started writing again, including here, in this space. 

It's possible there might be another long gap before I write again in this space (or maybe not ... we shall see). What I do know, is that right now, I'm putting most of my writing energy into the stories I write for children, and into getting the books I've already published into the hands of young readers. 

Speaking of which, if you find my blog helpful, please consider ordering one of my books. It supports me and my work. 

Click here for earlier posts from me on the topic of The Writing Life. 

The Caregiving Part of the Writing Life

This space has been very quiet for the last several weeks, as most of my attention has been fixed on caring for my mother as she recovers from two recent hospitalizations; one due to heat exhaustion and the other due to a major surgery. 

As I reflect on the jumble of experiences at hospitals and medical offices; the myriad of interactions with nurses, doctors, physical/occupational therapists, social workers, pharmacists, etc; the growing collection of medical supplies in my home; and the thick files filled with lists of medications being managed, forms to be completed and/or already submitted, hastily scribbled notes related to questions asked and answered, instructions for wound care, and the dates and locations of upcoming follow-up appointments, I am happy to report that my mom is gradually getting healthier and stronger. 

I am exhausted! 

My sister, who lives in San Diego, actively participates in caregiving activities alongside me, focusing on elements of care that can be researched and/or coordinated remotely.  We connect by phone fairly regularly to keep each other updated and provide each other with support. 

Quite often there are events that occur related to some aspect of this journey that are humorous, frustrating, or remarkable enough that they beg to be shared; the writer in me knows that some of these moments are golden from a story perspective (such as when the home health nurse cleaned off the bottom of her DIRTY SHOE on my DINNER TABLE--hard to believe, but true.) 

I wish I could say that I had the bandwidth to get these memorable moments down on paper as they happen, but alas, talking seems to be more helpful and energizing to me during times of over-stimulation and stress than writing. 

I do text my sister with occasional pithy updates (some of which include photographs); I hope that these little snippets of our shared experience will be enough to work with if I ever decide to mine these memories for future stories. 

Visiting nurse cleaning her DIRTY SHOE on my DINNER TABLE! 

Quoting a line from a song (and play) by Jonatha Brooke that I often repeat to my sister (who is also a writer), "Are you getting this down? Boolie, it's good."