Editing can be fun

Seriously, it can! I've been working on editing Summer's Blossom. Since I've been having trouble with the writing, I decided to try editing, and it's just what I needed to do! I'm having a great time reading back over what I wrote and changing things, making them better, taking parts out and adding new parts. It's like the creativity just flowed right back into me suddenly. Maybe my writing problem has more to do with the project I was trying to do than the creativity not being there. I may still be too close to the situation to write After the Storm. I may need a little more distance from the hurricane and the aftermath before I can actually write it. I had a couple of new ideas I want to play around with, and I want to attempt a couple of short stories, just for fun.

Here's another interesting thing... work has been a lot of fun lately too. And life in general is great. This is going to sound odd, but I think I've been enjoying life more lately because of the death of a woman who goes to my church. (don't think I'm awful for saying that!) Let me explain. She was only a few years older than I am. She had a family, two kids and a husband. She was the kind of person who looked on the bright side of life, even with cancer. After she died, I started thinking about things. I complained about my life because work was too demanding, because I'm not dating anyone, because I don't have a lot of money, and because I'm tired and can't seem to find the time or the creativity to pursue my writing. But I'm alive. I'm healthy. I have a great job that I can go to every day without having to worry about doctor appointments and horrible treatments. There are a lot of things I can be happy about, a lot of things to be thankful for, and I'm wasting my life away complaining. So I made a decision to stop moping, to live every day like it's the last, and to choose happiness in every situation. Things have been amazing since then.

But back to my life...

The weekend was great. Friday night Addie and I went to see Chris at his dad's condo in Gulf Shores. We got to see his brother Josh and sister Katie too. Neither of us had seen either of them for such a long time that it was great to catch up on what they've been doing! We had a lovely bottle of French wine that Addie brought. We sat on the beach, talking and laughing for a long time. I love moments like that, old friends, waves crashing onto the shore, a gentle breeze... it was very nearly perfect. Living so close to the beach has its advantages.

Saturday I had plans with a friend, but he wasn't feeling well so we cancelled. It was fine, though, because Rhea called and asked if I wanted to go see "Pirates." She and I went, and I picked Noah up on the way because he wanted to see it too. It's always fun to see movies with kids, because they have a different perspective. And Noah, being 10 and extremely intelligent, always has a great perspective. But back to the movie... Several people I talked to today didn't like it very much, but I thought it was great. Very enjoyable. Very funny.

As I said before, work has been great. Today I worked on three grants and a grant report. I also made some calls about our annual fundraiser. It's time to start planning again. The event is next May and we need all that time to make sure everything is done before event night. Still working on the Web site and hoping I can finish by the deadline. I really don't like missing deadlines.

Well, I'd better get back to the editing. I've set a goal to be finished editing the first 5 chapters by the end of the week so I can create the package and start sending it out again. After sending it, I can edit the rest. Here's hoping something good comes of sending it off!