We left February after getting quite a bit of snow and moved
into March with some nice spring weather. Yesterday was no exception…it was
beautiful, with temps in the high 60’s and today we apparently might hit 70
degrees. It makes me happy to have a laptop so that I can sit outside rather
than having to choose between writing and enjoying a warm sunny day.
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| End of February |
I don’t doubt that we’ll be back to normal Washington
weather soon: rain, rain and more rain. It’s only March, after all, and we
still have to get through “April showers bring May flowers.” It’s what makes
the PNW so green and beautiful.
So we enjoy the weather when we’re treated to it, knowing
that soon enough we’ll be stuck indoors again.
Even with easy access via my laptop, the past two weeks were
not as focused on writing. I did complete some admin tasks with regard to
updating information on various sites, narrowing down additional tasks and
timelines for the projects I want to complete this year and I took part in a
marketing webinar, which then added another project to my list that I want to
begin when I can make time for it.
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| Beginning of March |
Other than that, my writing focus slipped due to a number of
personal tasks, each taking up space on my to-do list. However, the past two weeks were very productive when it came to finally
checking off my list those tasks that have been hanging over my head for
awhile. The benefit is that I will have more time to focus on my writing, which
is a great thing because I feel very unsettled when I don’t get to spend
regular time with my characters.
I’ll share one thing I was focused on the past two weeks…tidying
up a few things with regard to my mother-in-law’s estate. It’s been long enough
and I finally decided I just need to get it done. In addition, I’ve had boxes
of photos and family documents to finish going through, and having those boxes sitting
on the floor in my office has been, honestly, distracting. I have had a
constant reminder of a task that I needed to complete, but usually I found I
wasn’t emotionally prepared for. Going through a loved one’s personal items can
be difficult if you aren’t ready.
But I’m glad I finally did, and that I was finally able to
get through the material with more curiosity and less sadness.
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| Old school photo of my mother-in-law's |
I found undeveloped film rolls and was pleased to discover photos
of my in-laws that none of us had ever seen. I found old photos, birth
certificates, death certificates, and school records from the 1950’s. I also found
very old pages of family history typed up by a family member back in 1967 describing
in great detail my father-in-law’s parent’s family history. I’m amazed any of these
are in my hands, as they made it through a nasty flood we had in Chehalis back
in 2007 (the original pages of the family history show proof of that fact),
multiple moves throughout the years and even possibly a house fire the parents
had many years ago. What’s even more amazing is that the family history dates back
to the early 1800’s on his father’s side and the mid-1700’s on his mother’s
side. It’s really a fantastic find and with the addition of little stories about
some of the family members, the historic details about what some of the family
members dealt with is really quite amazing.
As a reader and as an author, you can imagine how this type
of find really peak my imagination!
So I begin this new week fresh and ready to get back to it
as I imagine that maybe someday, many years from now, a distant relative will
be reading details about me or my family’s history and what we made of
ourselves.
Have a great week!
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