Out like a lion, in like a lamb

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.

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.

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.

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!