Days Slipping By
That almost sounds like something one could use as a title for a story, doesnt it? Days slipping by. Do you ever have periods when you just can’t settle down and do the things you know have to be done? You feel the days slipping by into weeks but you still cannot pull yourself up to complete necessary tasks? I guess one could call this a major attack of procrastination, and its one I’ve been suffering from.
After a prolonged overseas holiday – where my husband and I travelled from Los Angeles across the southern states of the US to Atlanta before spending time with friends in North Carolina, Tennessee and Pennsylvania – I have found it difficult to re-engage my work ethic and actually do any writing. I think our holiday was so delightful I kinda got stuck in that holiday mode and forgot to leave it.
What a beautiful country the US is. And of course just a little bit bigger than little old New Zealand. Our escorted bus tour travelled over 4000 miles before leaving us in Atlanta. New Zealand is about 870 odd miles from one end to the other so I guess our tour across southern US equates to more than four journeys from Cape Reinga to the Bluff. We had a fantastic time, both with this tour and travelling independently. To spend eight weeks touring around such a vast area and only have two days where a little rain fell – despite areas in front of us, and behind us, suffering horrendous floods – was such a blessing.
Although I was definitely in holiday mode, my writing career was not swept completely aside. For weeks my anticipation heightened as the highlight of my whole trip approached. Nervous and excited I awaited the opportunity of actually meeting the editor who has patiently helped me achieve my dream of publication.
The Wild Rose Press Editor Maggie Johnson and me
Would the rapport I felt we had achieved over our years of working together actually exist face to face? Of course it did. For me our meeting was similar to visiting an old friend I hadn’t seen for ages, not the meeting to two strangers. It made me consider the possibility of writing an internet romance story – only for a moment though. What a wonderful evening I had with Maggie. We sat in the back of a restaurant until they wanted to close, then spent I don’t know how much longer talking in her vehicle outside my hotel. I can tell you, there were no moments of awkward silence. I always knew that evening would be the highlight of a wonderful holiday, and it was.