I’ve decided to call the last twenty one days – my ‘weird weeks’. Picasso had a blue phase so I think I’m allowed a weird one. Three weeks ago, I was happily sitting in the family home we’ve been in for sixteen years and now we’re selling it. All because I drove up a road and saw a ‘For Sale’ sign. All because my husband, whom I regularly show ‘For Sale’ signs to, didn’t give me a derisory grunt this time, but instead said ‘Let’s do it. Let’s move!’This happening so quickly – and it needs to if we want the house we’re after - adds to the weirdness. And whilst I’ve been running around like a headless chicken wondering, worrying, if we are ‘doing the right thing’, I haven’t been writing at all, which has felt really odd. I’ve missed it, which has led me to realise the following things:
1. I love it. I LOVE my writing!
2. I am blessed to be able to write and not to have to go into some office I loathe every day.
3. Too often I forget number two.
4. Far too often I forget number one, leading me to obsess about things like publication and forget the craft and the actual joy of writing stories.
5. September is the month this is going to change because I am going to get back to being grateful for number one and two in my life. Any writing I do will be done because I enjoy it and am writing what I want to – not what I feel I should.
The weird phase has also led me to realise the following:
1. Only nutters move house on a whim.
2. Only nutters try to sell and buy a house in the space of six weeks.
3. Only nutters fit an entire ground floor of solid oak flooring in a house and then consider moving.
4. Only nutters leave a beautifully finished house with room for their books to move into a ‘project’ where books will have to be stored.
5. Only nutters think there will be any writing done at all in September...
6. Only nutters think there just might be a story in all that???
