Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! To those outside the United States of America its just another Thursday, but for us it’s Turkey Day! A day for family, food, and gratitude. What are you thankful for, is the question asked around our table each year. I try to pause frequently and make lists of what I’m grateful for, so I thought I’d share some of that list with you today. 
I’m thankful for:
My sister, Pilar, who is with us this year, but will be moving out of the country soon. We don’t know when she and I will be together again. We’ll SKYPE and text, and call, but its never the same, so I am very grateful that my little sister can be with us for a few days.
Our daughter, Trinity, who is in college now. She’s with us this year, and doesn’t have any plans to move out of the country, but I’ve learned that plans change, and we’re happy she’ll be with us this year for sure.
My husband, Jonathon, who keeps making me believe that maybe there are romantic soulmates, after all.
Genevieve and Spike, the other halves of our domestic arrangement. We’ve lived together over a year now, and I think we’ve all learned more about ourselves, about love, and about what it takes to be in a committed relationship.
That I am polyamorous and have the chance to try for relationships as complex and rich as the ones I have in my life.
That I am a writer, and earn my living doing what I was born to do. I am even grateful for my deadline, because it helps keep me focused and motivated.
That it is a sunny, warm day after so many cold and wintry ones.
That Jonathon’s family is going to be able to join us for the meal today. We will think of those we have lost, but do our best to be truly grateful for those that remain.
For friends close at hand, and those faraway, who make life richer and more bearable.
For my best friend, he knows who he is, we are each other’s 3AM call, and have seen each other through divorce, the loss of parents, lost loves, found loves, illness, injury, and the dreams that get us through.
That I am healed enough to be back in the gym.
For the health and safety of those I hold dear, for as one professor in college used to say, “We are all just temporarily able bodied.”
I hope today finds you surrounded by people you love, and that includes yourself. If you are alone today enjoy your movie marathon, or your book of chose. For those who are into sports, enjoy the game, as for me and mine we’re watching the dog show. Okay, they’re recording the dog show so I can watch it later, because I have to keep making pages on the new book, so you can all read it next summer. May we all be truly grateful for the blessings in our lives.
Tag: friends
Happy Summer Solstice Harvest!
Happy Summer Solstice! Blessed Litha for my fellow pagans! Today is the longest day of the year. More sun, more light, more warmth, and tomorrow there will be a touch less, as we head towards autumn. This is a harvest festival for us, because it is traditionally when serious bounty began to come in from the fields, back when we couldn’t just run down to the grocery store and buy strawberries in January.
So, what good is a harvest festival in modern times where some people don’t even know that tomatoes grow on vines?
It’s true that the closest some of us get to a field is an apple picking afternoon at one of the local orchards, or the local organic isle, but harvest isn’t just about the stuff that feeds the body, it’s also about what feeds the heart, mind, and soul.
Harvesting means you’ve chosen what you wanted to grow, so you could get the right seed and plant it. You found out how much sun, how much water, and how many days until it would mature into a yummy vegetable. Pick something you want in your life, a better job, new couch, water garden, a family trip to Yellowstone, a romantic trip to Paris without the kids, hike the Appalachian trail, get pregnant, own your first designer watch, once a week date night, eat a more balanced diet, exercise more, take horse back riding lessons, take some college classes, be happier, love yourself more, knit your first sweater, finish your first novel, finish your 33rd novel, find a girlfriend, find a boyfriend, spend more time alone – whatever you want to bring into your life, that’s your seed.
Now that you know what you want, you need to figure out how much sunlight and water it needs, because some things need more shade, more solitude, others need bright sun and for you to reach out to more people for help, or instructions, or just to get them on board with the plan. The trick is to decide what steps you need to take, or things you need to do, or not do, to bring your harvest in before the end of the year.
For me, I want to finish the latest novel I’m writing by Thanksgiving day of this year. That’s going to require serious dedication to putting my butt in a chair and typing out pages on a regular basis. The light and water needed to finish the book is time, consistency of effort, and faith in myself and the book. On a good day, I’m so sure of myself that I’m unassailable in my certainty. On a bad day, I’m equally convinced I’d be killing trees to no purpose if I print the pages out. Oddly, I took today off from writing, to pursue two other things I wanted to bring to harvest in my life. I wanted koi for our water garden. I accomplished that by putting my name on the waiting list at the local pond store, because the fish go fast, and the big, pretty ones go faster. The fish were so gorgeous I was giddy with their beauty, and spoiled for choices. I began to laugh out loud as the clerk caught the fish I pointed out. I helped some, and was quickly splashed from glasses to sandals with water. We had one fish leap completely out of the tank to avoid being caught. I’d never seen such energy and fight in carp. It was so much fun, that I came home laughing and smelling slightly of clean, well-cared for fish. Watching them flit through the water in our pond made me smile a lot.
I also talked to the other half of our poly foursome today, and that feeds into another harvest goal, that I want even better communication to make sure that everyone’s needs get met, and most of their wants.
Jon, my husband, and I also got to visit with our friends, Sam and Eric, and since one of my goals is to see more of our friends, more often, that was perfect for today. They got here in time to help with the adventure of acclimating the koi to our pond, thanks for the help guys. What do you want to accomplish? What are you willing to put time and energy into so that you can harvest it by the end of the year? Think on what you need, what you want, and make it happen.
Playing as hard, as I Work
I walked into my office this morning with night still thick and black outside my windows. As I got up yesterday to make sure I hit the treadmill, so today I got up early to make up for the fact that I didn’t do a second work session last night. I chose to spend time with Jon and our daughter, Trinity. The three of us often sit in the family room puttering on lap tops, or iPads, or reading. Yesterday I was reading Death in the Long Grass by Chapstick, and a particularly good part made me read a bit out loud. Then somehow, at mostly Trinity’s request, I ended up reading almost a chapter out loud, because once the action starts it doesn’t really stop, and in between jaw-dropping real life adventure, he’s funny. Who doesn’t love humor mixed in with your blood and near death escapes; certainly not me? Then Chica was home, and she was fixing dinner, and I hadn’t seen her all day except as a hi, bye, in the morning before she went to work. I wanted to talk to my sister, and then . . . Well, you see how it went. I love my family, and love spending time with them. So, when I woke in blackness, knowing just by the quality of it, that dawn was not that close I got out of bed to go work. I played last night, so I could look at this as my penance, or I could say it’s a trade. I didn’t regret anything but the television watching last night. Even one show is too much with my schedule right now. But, a lot of my schedule is fun!
I used to think my life would get less busy someday, but Jon took me aside about seven years into our marriage, and said, “You keep saying it’s going to get less busy, but it doesn’t. It’s been like this since we got together.” He touched my shoulders, turned me to look up into his eyes and very seriously said, “I think this is it. This is your schedule, and it doesn’t get any easier.” My husband is a very wise man sometimes.
A few years back I was more successful than I’d ever dreamed of being as a writer, but I was pretty miserable, because all I was doing was writing. One memorable day I finished an Anita Blake novel in the morning, sent it off to New York, and began the next Meredith Gentry book that afternoon. Even I, with the stamina of a bull Elk, *laughs* could not keep that kind of schedule going forever. One thing I did was consolidate both series at one publisher. Now, no matter which series I’m working on, I’m making my publisher, Penguin Putnam happy, before this it was like dating two men who knew about each other, so you weren’t cheating, but they both wanted all your time. Eventually if you burn the candle at both ends you meet in the middle, and poof, no more candle. I needed a better way to burn, one that didn’t use me up.
So, what did I do? Well, I took one year where I did just one book, not two. That’s why there wasn’t a Merry book this year, but I’ve said, a lot, that there will be a Merry book in 2012, but it does mean I’m back to having to write two books in a very short space of time. I know, I know, every writer should have it so hard that they have two New York Times best selling series, and that they hit #1 a lot, so much so that their publisher wants more! It’s a great “problem” to have, but try my writing schedule for a little bit, then come talk to me about what is, and isn’t, a problem. I’ll manage it, but one thing I couldn’t bear to do was to go back to the punishing schedule I’d been on for the last few years. So, what to do?
I decided to play as hard as I work. Which means, I read to my daughter yesterday when she asked, as she remarked on things she was doing on the internet, and as Jon shared some of his findings on the inter web. It means I talked to Chica for a bit. It means this weekend Jon and I are going to visit friends out of state. Yes, the deadline is looming, but there’s always a deadline looming, and that’s just the way of things, as Jon said, “This is it. I don’t think it’s going to get any easier.” Since I couldn’t take away from my work schedule, I added things that were fun to my schedule. It seems counter intuitive to add to an already impossible schedule, but it was either add, or subtract and that would mean you guys would get fewer books with more time in between them, besides when I don’t write for awhile I get a little odd. My muse and I are heavy use items, and it works for us. 🙂
I have traveled more for pleasure this year than I have in the previous five, or longer. I had cut all the joy out of my life and whittled it down to the work, in a vain attempt to keep it all going, but you can only whittle away so much before you begin to cut into things that you need. By adding my more playtime to my insane schedule I have been happiest I have ever been. My muse and I have gone from feeling dry and empty, to a full well of ideas and inspiration. Writing isn’t just about putting my butt in a chair and making pages. It’s also about finding what inspires me. Not just ideas, I’m one of those blessed writers who finds ideas every damn where, but that breath of the divine that fills my metaphorical sails and helps me keep going until I’ve reached the shore. Before I figured out what I needed I was like a ship in the middle of a calm sea, out of fuel for my engine, and with no wind, I was left trying to paddle a very big ship. Ships aren’t meant to run on paddle power alone; no wonder I was tired. *grin*
Today I woke anxious, convinced I’d wasted last night, and how dare I do that with a book needing to be written, comic stuff due, and the deadline for the book coming at me like a train barreling down the tracks. How dare I waste my time, and not WORK! But I got up in the dark so I could start work early, because I didn’t burn the candle last night, I got up to burn it this morning. It’s the compromise, and I have no regrets about where I spent my time yesterday. I mean, what do I regret? Reading to my child? Um, no. Talking to my sister? No. Spending some serious quality time with my husband? Nope, no regrets. I walked into my office in the darkness and was happy to be there before dawn, happy to be getting to work, and not wanting to trade anything from last night, except the television watching. No more of that for awhile, I’m afraid. There will come a time when the deadline eats the world and I won’t be able to choose to talk, or visit, or read aloud to my family, but that’s a couple of months away. Until then, I’m going to enjoy my family, my home, my life, and the friends and people that help renew and inspire me. I can be successful beyond my wildest dreams, and still enjoy my life. It just takes planning, time management, and a lot of play dates for me, not the child. *laughs*