Brain Mush

I’m beginning to wonder exactly when the pile-on of obligations will subside… Somehow I had imagined I’d have all this extra time left over now that I’ve completed my MBA. Instead, I feel like I’m in a dead sprint that has no end.

We’re just about to start work on a new account this week at the office, and I’ve spent the majority of my weekend filling out The Form From Hell That Shall Not Be Named. And the work we’re doing is something the vendors warned the customer couldn’t be begun without a 90-day lead time… but somehow we’re going to pull this off by the end of February. I’m actually confident we can deliver… but it’s likely to mean logging some extra hours, too.

On the other hand, we also just had an anomalous weather weekend, in which we enjoyed temperatures in the 60s this afternoon, and rewarded the troika (of two girleez and a boyka!) with an almost-3-mile walk. Hubs got to wear shorts. It was a nice reward/trade-off from earlier in the week when we were shivering in the teens. And no doubt contributed to my stuffy head sneeziness. We walked on 5 of 7 days for 8.5+ total miles last week, and we’re finally starting to see a more consistent pay-off with the littlest puppy giving signals to do her business OUTSIDE.

The brain mush, though… And that form… The upside of that combination is that it’s given me an excuse to touch base with old friends, and learn about exciting new options coming soon to Booktastik (because Dionne always merits a shout-out!). Hubs has also been prodding the mush, sending first a link to a Native American code of ethics, and then 25 lessons from Buddha. That first post had an entry about “everyone makes mistakes, and all mistakes can be forgiven” that got me where I live. I’m still pondering how the reality of forgiveness plays out in day-to-day living, though… and realize I’m talking in abstractions for most readers, but wonder if anyone has had a personal experience with forgiving “the unforgivable” and re-making a relationship with a family member…? Particularly if trust is broken and unlikely to be regained…? How does one go about living this reality? Especially when there are so many competing priorities?

So this week I have more questions than answers. And I’m still pondering plot feedback that may have saved me from predictability but still begs the question of how to proceed. Or even when I’ll find time again to sit at the keyboard to pound out fiction words. I am, after all, still at the same word count where I was two weeks ago. On the other hand, I did get to read a few books this week. So maybe I just need to go with having some brain decompression time in the other direction, and try again next week.

Either way, I encourage you to see what the other ROW80ers are managing this week, and I’ll be back next week with whatever interim answers I might find.