Break from Writing

I’ve taken a hiatus from writing for the last week as our three kids and four grandchildren came to visit. What a week! With grandkids from ages one to nine, we went swimming in an outdoor pool, in a plastic pool in the backyard and at a rec center with a lazy river and slide; several trips up to the mountains including a stop a new carousel; lunch at Casa Bonita with its indoor waterfall, gorilla act, divers, piñata, games and cave; playing board games in the evenings; numerous restaurant trips; and lots of rolling around on the carpet with the little ones. This is the first time we’ve been able to get everyone together since December of 2007 so it was quite a treat for the grandparents. Now I’m ready to jump back into writing. I’m close to finishing a rough draft of a new novel so have that project and several editing jobs to work on this coming week.

Reunions

June is a good month for reunions. That’s when my high school in Hawaii always has a luau and reunion. I’ll be going back to my fiftieth in 2012. In the last two weeks I also went to reunions for employees of two companies I used to work for. It’s always great to catch up with people you haven’t seen in years. The challenge is recognizing people who have lost hair, changed shape or morphed into new identities. I’m looking forward to another reunion next week. All of our kids and grandkids are coming to visit. I’m going to take a week off from writing so we can do lots of family activities.

Retirement Homes

Since I write about older characters some of whom live in retirement homes, I visit many retirement communities. Yesterday, I went to the 50th anniversary celebration for the Frasier Meadows Retirement Community in Boulder, Colorado. In addition to great food and interesting people to meet, I heard Larry Minnix, President and CEO of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) speak. He made excellent comments about the aging population and opportunities ahead for the older population. I got a kick out of a story Larry told. His mother was in a retirement community and after becoming a floor leader, she commented to Larry about senior romance saying, “I’ve bit off more than I can chew. You wouldn’t believe what goes on in this place after dark.”

Writing and Walking

My usual schedule is to write in the morning and then spend the afternoon doing editing, critiques, administration, email and events. The two parts of the day are punctuated by getting some exercise around noon. At least three days a week, I take walks at this time. I find walking gives me a good break and time to think. I’ve started carrying a pad of paper and a pen with me, so when ideas strike me, I can jot them down. This is when I do some of my best brainstorming for plots of books I’m writing. I usually walk with walking poles so I’ll be jaunting along when an idea pops into my head. I stop at the side of the trail, take the poles off my wrists, pull out pen and paper and scratch a note. People must wonder what I’m doing but then again with all the people either mumbling to themselves or talking on cell phones, I may go unnoticed. When I get home I look through my notes. Then my challenge is reading my hen scratching. Most times I can decipher what I’ve written and I’m rejuvenated and have something new to add to my novel.