My summer took an unexpected turn, as you will have noticed when I didn’t get to the rest of my birthday month celebrating in July. I had mentioned here some time ago that I had two family members who were ill. One of them is much better this year. The other, my aunt, continued on a downhill path that ended in July. Watching someone you love decline that way sucks. The only good thing about it was that she did it the way she wanted. There is a fantastic in-patient hospice in our area, and she was well-cared-for, between me and the staff there.
And since then, when I haven’t been at work, I have been working on clearing out her house, which was my grandparents’ house. It’s been a huge project, and I am still not finished, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I think. It’s also been interesting, digging through old papers that I can’t imagine why anyone left in a box (or in this case, many boxes!) in the attic for over 60 years. But there have been fun finds, too, like pretty postcards saved from vacations, or adorable little wedding cards, or photos. I actually spent a lot of weekends there, just to avoid all the driving back and forth. The sunset picture above is from one evening a couple of weeks ago after a rainy day had cleared out.
But because the Great Clear-Out is starting to wind down, I need to get back into a more regular routine again. The one thing I haven’t stopped in the past four months is writing. Even while sitting in a quiet hospice room, I wrote, which surprised me. July was exhausting, from start to finish, but my story kept me company, which was a real comfort–I actually got to the end of a shifter manuscript at my monthly writing group, which was a huge boost.
So now I’m back here, too. My writing goals for the year have all gone to hell, so I guess I should start thinking about what I want to accomplish next year–like what to do with my Medusas since I have the rights to the first one back and haven’t gotten to do anything about that. I’ve still got some work to do at my aunt’s house, but it isn’t going to be as all-consuming anymore, which is nice. More time for my brain to focus on writing, rather than how to deal with 8 chests full of blankets, or ripping up carpet that’s been on the floor since I was a little girl. Nope, I’m coming up for air, and, unlike the humpback whale below, I won’t be diving as deep again into this project. Now it’s time to breathe and get things back to normal.
Humback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) breaching.