Good news! That point system I mentioned in the last post? Totally working. Everything else, however, is full-on shenanigans - and that's not just my deadlines talking.
When timing gets tight and everything in life is determined to need a whole lot of attention (awesome day job, health issues, elderly dog, aforementioned deadlines), what's a girl to do?
Go. On. Vacation.
Getting some distance from the banana-pants nonsense of daily life makes me better at actual life. Sometimes that means hopping in the car, driving to something approximating nature (the Dallas area has a surprising amount of options for that!), and hanging out with trees for a long afternoon. That can leave me refreshed enough to re-tackle what had been feeling utterly overwhelming.
Last spring, it was spending time along the Oregon coast with family, then getting home and knocking out a short story in a day.
This time, it's a full-on, actual vacation, on an island, with some of my favorite people. I don't get to leave everything behind (deadlines wait for no vacation), but the ocean/good company/tropical sunsets/the freshest of seafood are guaranteed to do some healing and re-inspiring.
Also?? I might get to see whales.
Side note: I have been on a lot of whale-less whale watches. Like, a lot a lot. Elementary school field trips to the Boston Aquarium often included a harbor whale watch - during which I saw no whales. Mexico? No whales. Seattle? No whales. The Galapagos???? No whales.
But friends, I am obsessed. I love whales, and for the first 20ish years of my life I was sure I would be a marine biologist and learn to talk to whales (thank you Star Trek!). I think they know I want it too much and are avoiding me? Not this time though! This time I'm going to see whales and probably do a whole Kristen-Bell-meeting-a-sloth-meltdown. (side note to the side note: if you haven't ever seen that, please google. It is a full-on delight.)
Travel + nature tend to restore my ability to deal and get my imagination restarted, so I'm entirely grateful to have a really cool trip (that will definitely have whales) coming up in the next few weeks (for whales).
When life gets a little overly real-world-life-y, what do you tend to do to bounce back? Tips and fun stories welcome (extra points for whales).
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