Sick kids & shenanigans

God must think I’m a bigger badass than I actually am.

Last week. Last…week. We had the hvac guys out to replace the capacitor on the heat pump compressor on Thursday. And, about an hour before he was due to arrive, I get a call from the kids’ school: Daniel had thrown up after having had a snack. So I had to run over and get him. And school rules dictate that there must be at least 24 hours between the last emission, and when the sick kid is allowed back, so he was out Friday, too (despite being 100% recovered).

Saturday was Kathryn’s birthday, so there was a lot to do: gifts and grandparent visits and a meal out (she picked The Olive Garden, somewhere she’d never been, because they had options I could eat!), and…

Yeah. From about Thursday on, the rest of the week was…not spent writing, as I’d planned. And before Thursday? Not good, either. Despite my intentions.

This week, I’ve been fighting with abrupt weather changes messing with my joints, dealing with my daughter’s first piano recital, and…a repeat of last week, except this time, I didn’t have to go pick him up. Yep. Daniel’s sick again. Let the dog out, then ran for the bathroom. So, not nearly as much time spent writing as I’d wanted to do. At all.

I’ve gotten maybe another thousand words added. I’m not stuck, but I’m too busy with the full-time job to do the writing that I’d rather be doing…and I’m enough of an adult to grit my teeth and do the things I don’t want to do but that need to be done.

Static…

Last month…was…yeah. Something else. I had my laptop (briefly) shit the bed, then got ambushed by a book. And then got ambushed by financial crap.* And then Thanksgiving. And Christmas decorating, and starting to plan/shop for…

I’m…kinda tired, y’all.

So. What I accomplished last month wasn’t a bad way to get back into the swing of things: the book that ambushed me? 15K words in about nine or ten working days. I could have had an extra 10K or so, had it not been for Thanksgiving Break last week–because when the kids are home and crammed in the house with me, I’m too focused on paying attention to kid noise to determine when I need to step in to be able to focus on writing. Editing, sure (and I should have…but I didn’t), but not writing.

And I have the rest of this week, and two more before they’re out for two weeks plus an extra school day. Who knows what I’ll be able to accomplish?

I will spend Christmas Break (the weeks before and after Christmas) editing. Probably Pint. Maybe Schrodinger as well, but I won’t bet on it.

And then I’m planning to finish Certified Public Assassin in January. After the kids to back to school…and I’m sure Daniel’s doing okay with his new schedule (they’re switching up “electives” in January).

*_{Financial crap: four new tires costing $200 more than I’d expected, a new capacitor for the compressor on my heat pump, property tax (real & personal), Christmas shopping…inflation that they’re admitting is nearing 10% and is more like 30-45% in reality…}