The Pause

In case no one has noticed, I’ve been taking a break. And it feels good. It feels like the end of a school term and suddenly the constant homework thoughts are no longer hanging over my head. Since all of my posts are written in the evenings – after work, the gym, errands, laundry, etc. - it’s nice to have a little free time. I’ve actually managed to watch a few sitcoms and go shopping and do crafty stuff. Tomorrow I’m fixing dinner with Owen, and Thursday I’m going to hang out with some friends. Plus, it’s Fall! I can be outside without suffocating, and can take Lady Buttercup on long walks and to the pumpkin patch.

The other confession is I’ve found a way to do some writing for my regular job. So I’m getting paid and get to use my real name, which stretches me in a different but very satisfying way. I don’t think I’m ready to give up the blog, but I am re-evaluating how much time I want to devote to it. Because let’s face it: there may be a few decent posts, but many are simply filler so that fresh content can be delivered. I started it so that I could get in the habit of writing, and maybe evolve towards something more substantial. And I certainly can’t imagine keeping this going forever.

But then.

It only takes something semi-interesting to happen and I get that surge of energy propelling me to WRITE IT DOWN. Especially if there is some Mr. T news or a marginally interesting incident or story to pass along. Like the dream I had last night. I was swimming in a huge tank with Anna Nicole Smith’s baby, and Shamu smooshes his face up against the glass partition because he likes us and wants to swim together. So I open the divider and Shamu is swimming underneath us, until I freak out at how big he is and have to scram.

Also, I wonder if anyone else watched My Name Is Earl last Thursday, because that was totally Amy Sedaris playing the cat lady. Then the very next night I was driving back from Statesboro and Natasha was reading me excerpts from Amy Sedaris’ new book that I didn’t even know about – it’s called I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence. How can I not make sure people know about it, and that it has her cheese ball recipes?

Or I could mention the choco chip cookies I made that were slightly over baked. I prefer soft and chewy cookies, but it didn’t stop me from noshing out on the crunchy ones until I’d scraped up the roof of my mouth.

The obvious solution is balance – a little for me, a little for the blog, and everyone’s happy. Balance is a big deal for me, whether it’s relationships or food or how I spend my time. To expect to spend each evening trying to post isn’t what I want. I’d sort of turned this into an obligation for myself, which took the joy out of it. So. I’m going to post only when the writing gushes out of me faster than I can keep up. Or when I crave that excitement that comes with seeing my thoughts typed out. So that means I’ll have less going on here, but maybe it will be the next phase: to focus on quality.