A couple of weeks ago, I realized I hadn’t written anything new for this blog since the end of January.
It’s not because I forgot.
Or for lack of trying.
And I promise I didn’t disappear (or even discover time travel or anything like that either).
There’s this funny thing called life that seems to take over our best intentions and alter our plans at times…and it’s fair to say that things have been a bit hectic lately.
So, where have I been since my last post at the end of January?
Well, all the super personal life stuff aside (which I’m not going to get into at the moment), I’ve been busy finishing all the unpacking from our cross-country move and making our new home actually feel like a home. At times, this seems like an ongoing process, but it has felt more like home with every passing day.
Then there’s the new addition to our family – our cat Alianorra (but, for short, we call her Alia). In the beginning of February, we adopted her into our home. I first saw her online and there was something about her sweet little face that pulled at me. When we saw her in the shelter, on the day that would be her adoption day and the beginning of a wonderful life for her, she looked so sad and depressed. She almost seemed like she had given up on life. Her story goes…she was found wondering around on the streets, she was a mother (and all her kittens were adopted before her), and a foster mother (and all those kittens were adopted before her too). She lived her life in shelters and only gained a foster home a few months before we adopted her. And she’s believed to only be two years old. (That’s a lot in such a short, little lifetime!) Well, ever since she became part of our family she’s had a complete change in attitude. Our sweet Alia is so loving, playful, and chatty. She’s also a very happy lap cat.
And through all these changes and additions, I’ve been working on something big. For the last several years, I’ve been collecting ideas (which there’s never a lack of), thinking, writing, editing, thinking some more, writing some more, and editing some more. I’ve always loved writing and telling stories. Now, I’ve reached the point where I’ve chosen eighteen of my short stories and put them together into a collection. They’re all different, in their own way, but there’s a common thread running through them which holds them together. I love each one of these stories and am looking forward to sharing them with everyone. I’m still working on preparing them for publication and going through that process, but I’ll be releasing my book into the world by the end of the year (if not sooner) and will share more details soon.
So, that’s it. I’ve been active, but inactive at the same time. I’ve taken such a long break from this blog that it almost seems as if I might have disappeared. (Which, again, I didn’t. I’m still here.)
But, as it happens to so many of us, or even all of us at one point or another, life had different plans for me than I had for myself, for better or worse. I’m not complaining though. I don’t believe I really have anything to complain about anyway. Everything has worked out – all the unpacking, our beautiful Alia, and my collection of short stories (which, once again, I’m very excited to share with everyone). All of this is just simply life…and it’s a wild and beautiful adventure.