February 27, 2012

Cat and Mouse: ROW80 Late Check In

The world's still spinning... good to know. I didn't post this weekend, the first time I missed a post since 9/17/11. And my A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80) update is late as well.

For the last two months, life has been the cat and I have been the wind up mouse toy. Toward the end of last week I was kicking my own sickness and my daughter seemed to be on the mend. The end was in sight, or so I thought.

Weeks of sickness led to a juggling act. So many balls were in the air, and I was skimming by. Every morning I woke up and prioritized what HAD to be done. I managed to stay afloat. In a weird way, this felt like quite the accomplishment considering.

With less balls in the air, I decided Friday morning to do something crazy... put my WIP writing first. Friday afternoon and Saturday morning were designated for writing.

Then came...

Taxes - Mid-Friday, I was ready to send my final accounting to my tax guy. As I was about to hit send, I discovered our publisher used the wrong Tax ID number for our W2 reportings. An hour of discussion later, they promised to get back to me Friday. Shocker... they didn't.

I braced myself for a frustrating Monday morning, but my writing would still happen. Then came...

Blog comments - I've heard a consistent request across the Blog Universe lately: please get rid of the pain-in-the-butt word verification. I've been feeling the same way. Thanks to fellow blogger and campaigner, Melissa Maygrove, I finally figured out how to do this. I thought it was a problem solved, UNTIL...

Spam - I received no less than twenty-five spam comments in 24 hours. I deleted them all and now have comment moderation in place. Eek!

Finally, I was ready to write. But then came...

Daughter #2 - Poor girl. She's had three rounds of Strep this winter, two horrible ear infections (one requiring two rounds of antibiotics), an eye infection, and Bronchial pneumonia. She came to me with a rash. Long story short, we had a scary night and discovered she's allergic to Penicillin. She's now on Prednisone and a new antibiotic (for the Strep).

(Note: This is not the daughter recently diagnosed with Lyme's disease.)

I feel honored to have reached a point in my life where writing is my official business, but with that comes the pains of business: tax reporting, office management, record keeping, business calls (thanks to clients *yeah for clients*), project management, and so on. I'm adjusting, but I miss the days when it was just a passion.

Add to that my number one job as a mother, and well... you get the post above.

My ROW80 Update

Writing: See Blogging.

Blogging: W/T/F here and two book reviews posted on Mom in Love with Fiction. One of the posts here was a flash fiction piece I'm quite proud of (and my only writing since Wednesday): Pulling Him In.

Reading: Yes. I was up most of last night making sure my daughter didn't have breathing troubles, so I read. Reviews will be forthcoming.

Editing: No. I knew my mind was elsewhere. That's not fair to me or the client.

Diet & Exercise: *insert maniacal laughter here*

I'm down, but not out. Today, other than hovering over my daughter to make sure her swelling and hives were calming down, I made a plan to get caught up. The rest of today is a wash, so I focused on business issues and this blog post.

Tomorrow, I'm writing come Hell or high water. So unless you hearing about burning flames or a flood taking over Damascus, Maryland...

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Getting what you had to get done IS an accomplishment. Don't feel bad. Though, at this point, I feel like I need to pour you something to drink that's a bit on the strong side. Hope your week improves.

Tia Bach said...

Thanks, Ryan! A strong drink might be just what the Dr. ordered. Thanks to ROW80 and my writer friends, I know I'll get back to writing, and that's a good feeling.

L.S. Engler said...

Ugh. Speaking of floods, when it rains, it pours, right, so I'll keep my eye on the news, but I hope tomorrow is blessedly uneventful for you and you're able to just write until your hands want to fall off! I'm with Ryan...with everything that's been thrown at you, you're still doing well, so keep it up and, to pull another cliche out of my repertoire, just remember that this, too, shall pass.

Elise Fallson said...

Casting a spell on Damascus, Maryland before going to bed. Tomorrow will be a better day (:

Eloise said...

Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!! Puh-leez take care of yourself and loved ones. I know what it's like to take care of multiple sick people when you're sick yourself.

Do take the time you need!

Julie Glover said...

Sometimes, it seems to pile on all at once. Bless your heart. (We said that down here, do y'all?)

Good luck getting some writing in. Of course, I know how those mom duties come first. I hope your daughter is feeling much better soon.

Wendy Jane said...

Way to go! That is an awful lot for one person to deal with. I'm sorry to hear so much has decided to pile up on you. But you seem to be doing very well. Thank you for the encouraging post.

Shan Jeniah Burton said...

I sympathise.....My last week or so has been a lot like this...

I console myself by thinking that after all the chaos, the return to some type of normalcy will feel so restful....

Sending many healing thoughts to your daughters, and mom-peace to you.

Brenna said...

Oh wow. I hope things go smoother for you!

Natalie Hartford said...

Holy COW! How much can one person take. Girl, you are a machine and you should be sooo proud of everything you've been managing to keep afloat...I am super impressed and so inspired by your perseverance and determination!
We will all be keeping your daughter(s) in our prayers...
Don't forget to squeeze in some "you" time in among all that...a bath or maybe a 20-minute nap. Something that's just for you...
ENJOY your WIP time!

Kim Switzer said...

Holy cow! Yes, you have made HUGE accomplishments! With all that going on, maybe you should count just getting out of bed in the accomplishment category.

I hope everyone is healthy and back on their feet soon! Hang in there.

Kim Switzer said...

Holy cow! With all you have going on, you're accomplishing HUGE amounts! You should get to put getting out of bed on your accomplishments list.

I hope everyone is healthy very soon so you can get a little breathing room! Hang in there.

Sarah Tokeley said...

Oh my goodness! How are you still upright? Don't worry, I know the answer to that. It's because you have to be, right? Hope your daughter gets better soon.

Tia Bach said...

L.S., Dare I say, the clouds seem to have parted and the rain stopped.

Elise, Spells are most welcome!

Julie, Thanks. The sprint today was a breath of fresh air. A much needed one.

Wendy, Thanks! If it weren't for ROW80 I would be cowering in a corner.

Shan, I hope your clouds are clearing, too!

Natalie, A Bath. Ahhhh. I just might! Thanks for your encouraging sprint vibe today, too.

Thanks, Brenna.

Sarah, Amen. Such is the path of the mother. ;-)

Thanks, Kim. Accomplishment is relative. I have to remember that.

I really appreciate all the comments this week. Things are looking up!!

Eden Mabee said...

I am so glad now that I've had the chance to read this, that you were able to make the #teamsprint today. And sorry to hear about all the hassles... While the penicillin allergy is frightening at the moment, fortunately now that you know, it is fairly easy to keep an eye on. Glad you caught it! Be careful now though for any aged cheese! (My mother has the same allergy...)

Tia Bach said...

Eloise, Things are looking up, and I'm looking forward to getting back up to speed. I'll be in contact soon. Thanks for your patience with my life. ;-)

Eden, I'm glad we know about her allergy, but it's getting frustrating. Poor child grows into them instead of out of them. ugh! But the wordsprint did me a world of good today. Just what the Dr. ordered!

Jaleh D said...

Eww allergies are no fun, especially to medicines that are supposed to make you better.

Hope tomorrow and the rest of the week goes better.

Tia Bach said...

Thanks, Jaleh. It's already looking up!