But I have quite the tale to tell.
My family and I set out last weekend for vacation. A driving trip. The fun began last Friday when power went out. We were planning to leave Saturday. Neighbors were watching our dog, so the poor thing didn't have to spend a week in the dreaded kennel. When we left Saturday afternoon, still no power. Neighbors were standing by to take our dog somewhere cool if need by. We kissed the food in our refrigerator and freezer goodbye (and several kisses to doggie) and headed out.It never dawned on us that the drive to Northern Kentucky to stay with my dear friend would be through what seemed like post-Apocalyptic West Virginia and Ohio. Realizing we needed gas soon, we searched for exits with gas and food. Our first two tries were met with blacked out stores and gas stations signs with big bold letters glaring. No Gas.
With our "miles until empty" reading at 15 miles, we finally found gas. We waited an hour with all the other desperate cars. I've never seen The Walking Dead, but each time we passed a blacked out McDonalds or Kroger, I was freaked out that a band of zombies were around the corner. We finally made it to my friend's house just after midnight with nary a zombie in sight.
The trip was wonderful, but it made me realize just how dependent I am on Internet service and, shocker, power! Luckily I had some posts in the bank. But I was hoping to get ahead over the week of vacation.
"If you want to make God laugh, tell him your future plans " ~ Woody Allen.
Writing without a laptop is difficult. I love my IPhone, but I don't want to write all my thoughts in notes. It's painful and slow. Half the words get lost. Plus, I hate answering emails that require more than a simple OK on my IPhone. And thanks to losing power before we left, I had drained my battery.
Finally, we were a friend's house later in the week. I was going to download some editing projects and do some writing. Can you imagine how shocked I was to find out he did not have Internet service? I ended up going to a Starbucks for two hours.
Oh, and just for fun... on our way home Sunday, we got a flat tire which caused a four-hour delay in our travel plans. Another lost day. A rarely missed ROW80 Update.
What has all this taught me?
Where there's a will, there's a way. I was determined to stick to my A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80) commitments, come no power or flat tires! And maybe I should start watching The Walking Dead to hone my survival skills.
My ROW80 Update (a day late thanks to that flat tire!)
Writing: Even on vacation, I managed at least 30 minutes a day writing. I spent one hour writing on Friday. I did take off Saturday and Sunday, instead of just the one day in my goals. Two days may be more realistic, but I'm going to keep with my six-days-a-week goal for now. (When without my laptop, I dared write on paper. Crazy, I know.)
Blogging: My goal is to post Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I missed Sunday. It happens. I have to shake it off and move forward. That's my new motto! Otherwise I get so caught up in what I don't do I fail to see what I do do. Ever had this problem?
Reading: I knocked down four books over vacation: The Book Thief, Markus Zusak ; The Penelopiad, Margaret Atwood; Winter Garden, Kristin Hannah; and The Soldier's Wife, Joanne Trollope. The Soldier's Wife review will be up tomorrow at Mom in Love with Fiction. The other reviews will be scattered over the next two weeks. I'm so inspired after reading these. They were all amazing in their own right.
Social Media: One thing I did manage on my phone was blog reading. I didn't always comment (again too much typing on a wee-bitty keyboard), but I feel more caught up.
Editing: Behind, thanks to the power and Internet fiascoes. But I'm catching up.
Hope my ROW80 friends are having a productive Round 3 so far!
4 comments:
I sometimes do get caught up in what I haven't done rather than what I have. Your new mindset is awesome. Congratulations. It takes a certain kind of person to get there and a certain kind of person to stay there. Don't let anything drag you out again. :) WRITE ON!
Sounds like an eventful trip, but you've still achieved loads! You should pat yourself on the back. I, too, spend a lot of time focussing on what I haven't done, but I suppose that's good in a way otherwise I might forget it and never do it. But acknowledging accomplishments is definitely important.
Jo, I hope I can stay there. I'm feeling pretty good so far. But I tend to start rounds full of hope, and then life starts chipping away. Wish me luck!
Nick, Thanks! Agreed. ;-)
Do you remember the Northeast blackout of 2003? We were traveling from New York to Iowa and literally arrived at our Iowa destination as the blackout started. Most of our route was through areas that ended up being affected. When it was time to return home we were staying in places (like Toledo, OH) which had just had power restored. I came close to having your experience. Scary. I'm glad you made it OK.
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