On Life (not) Getting in the Way

I love the quote above for a lot of reasons - I like making plans, I like a schedule, I like goals...I like to know what is coming up around the corner (even though I also really like to be surprised and to know what what will happen next). This pandemic, though, isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s been hard. From losing people we love to the general angst to societal unrest and wondering where that next paycheck will come from. The pandemic has upped a lot of our stress levels, I think. And I’ll admit, the stress still gets me every now and then. 

But I think the pandemic has also given us a gift. It has reminded us to take the time. I’ve blogged about taking time before - to sit and people watch, to spend time with RadioMan or bebe, to just enjoy a spring breeze or an unexpectedly sunshiney winter afternoon. 

As I was trying valiantly to come up a writing related topic for this week’s blog, I considered editing tips or characterization charts or another blog on planners and plotting. And then I got distracted with an Animal Crossing task. Then I refocused my energy and decided to write about using little breaks of time - those 10 minutes the spaghetti noodles are boiling or the 45 minutes before bed or those 15 minutes with your morning coffee to go through email or prep a newsletter or post to social media. Then I got distracted again while Asra (kitten) tried to ride Hazel (dog) like a pony. Then I had to make lunch, which reminded me about the plot point I’d been struggling with so I sat down at my desk and sketched out that scene idea, left the corn dogs in the air fryer too long, and had to re-start lunch. 

Which is when I realized I already had my blog post. Life has been getting in the way a lot lately - bebe’s schooling at home, RadioMan’s been here-there-and-everywhere basketball games (the season is finally over, though!), I’ve been settling in to the new grant writing position - all while getting a new book ready for my editor. It hasn’t been easy, this pandemic living situation. Every schedule RadioMan settled got thrown up in the air when teams were shut down because of COVID exposures. Bebe’s gotten better at self-directing her school stuff, but still asks for help on assessment days (and, honestly, I love being there for her), and there are the days when the pandemic just gets to her and she misses her friends and the normalcy she’s had taken away from her (and, honestly, my mom-job has to come first on those days). Then there was the new job for me, and the old deadlines, and the marketing that goes with book releases. There have been a lot of days over the past year when I’ve just wanted to scream at life to stop being so dang interruptive so I can get things done!

And then I have a long talk with bebe, or watch a soccer match on Sunday morning with RadioMan, or have a long chat with a writing friend, or have a particularly good writing day and I realize...life hasn’t really gotten in the way. Life has just been. It’s been happening all around me and I’ve been lucky enough to have a front row seat with a spectacular, heartbreaking, frustrating, and exciting view. 

I’ve met all my self-publishing deadlines. The new job is flowing smoothly. That new book my editor is waiting on is right on schedule. I’ve made good use of my time, but I’ve also let myself live a little more than maybe I would have in a non-pandemic year - I’ve taken more time with my man and my kid, I’ve been more attentive to taking an afternoon in the sunshine just for me, I’ve appreciated more those calls with my writing friends, my mom, and those long texting marathons with my girls.

So maybe this year that has gotten in the way of our lives...really hasn’t gotten in the way. Maybe this year has shown us that we can have the most disruptive year, filled with external issues and stresses, and still get where we want to be. Because life is what happens when we’re busy making other plans...it always has been. We just needed a reminder that without a plan, life can still be a beautiful thing.