Writing...Weather Permitting

It’s an odd time of year for me.  It’s this time of year when many of my favorite shows are ending or will soon end, leaving barely anything to watch on TV and the days are beginning to provide more sun, therefore offering more opportunities to play outside.   

I don’t let the television take time away from my writing and I am very thankful for the invention of the DVR so that I don’t have to worry about missing my shows.  I know they’ll be waiting for me when I have the time to view them.  But I have always enjoyed this time of year, when the shows wrap up and take a breather for the summer.  It means less time worrying about how to catch up on my shows and more time available to accomplish other tasks.  I was looking forward to how much more I could write, as this will be my first summer since I began writing my book.

But sunshine is a different factor.  You can’t put off the sun like you can a TV show.  Here in the Pacific Northwest, sun is a delight we do not get to enjoy as often or on our own terms.  When the sun decides to bedazzle us with its warmth and brilliance, especially on our days off from work, we forget what needs to be accomplished indoors for what we can accomplish outdoors, knowing the weather could change very easily over the course of a few days.

Sunshine a wonderful thing, as is the nice, warm weather it brings when you are beginning to wonder whether the rain will ever take some time off.  Today was a preview of the quandary I will soon face during the summer months when I will have to decide between staying inside to write and going outside to work in my garden.  Yesterday was cloudy and it sprinkled off and on all day so I was able to complete my chores around the house before spending most of the afternoon writing. 

I was very happy with the amount of writing I was able to complete.

I was on a roll and I thought I’d accomplish just as much today but…the sun came out to play.

And it was wonderful.

I enjoyed the afternoon in my garden and while I would like to have spent just as much time writing, the garden will not weed itself.  The garden plants will grow or the weeds will grow…I prefer my veggies, fruits and herbs to the weeds.  I especially like the plants that won’t give the weeds a chance to grow, like my rhubarb.

Working in the garden is truly therapeutic while I dig weeds from the soft dirt and add new plants to the old as I listen to the birds sing their songs above me.  I was thrilled to finally break free the table, umbrella and chairs from their winter storage so that I now have a place to sit by the garden while I sip my iced tea.  I especially enjoyed relaxing in a chair at the end of the day as I soaked in the sun and listened to nothing other than the whisper of the breeze, the slight rustle of leaves and the birds as they sang their melodies. 

While the summer months might offer more challenges on when to write and when to work outside, I’m sure I’ll find a happy medium.  One thing is certain; it is days like today that can only provide positive results when time spent outdoors proves to replenish your mind, body and soul.

How about you?  What do you do to re-energize and prepare for the coming week?  Do you ever feel you spend too much time on one task over another?  Or have you found a way to evenly spread yourself between what you need to do and what you want to do?