People fly these enormous kites on the beach around Mission Bay. Really neat to see them. Like fantasy creatures in the sky.Vacations are kind of unreal anyway. We sleep until we wake up and then do things I don't normally do, like walk across the street to Starbucks while the surf pounds in the background. Even though I spent some of my mornings checking in with work (big proposal going out) and keeping up with other email, I didn't track twitter, or the blogs I usually read, or the comics, etc., in my dailies bookmark folder.
It felt good to be out of that swim for a bit.
Instead, we walked the boardwalk, paddled in the surf. We enjoyed long wine-filled lunches with fresh seafood and lolled by the pool. We did crazy, non-real-life things like toured an $8 million beachfront house. My normally full days emptied out. I didn't work on any writing projects. I read several books. Emotional tension over things I'd been worrying about bled away.
The ocean is good for that.
The coming back, though, that's always the bite. Even in the car I started revising my To-Do list. I received an email from my editor during the drive with line-edits on Sapphire. Meanwhile I still haven't finished the two Revise & Resubmits I'm working on. The big proposal is still teetering on the edge of going out and now I'm being sent on a two-week jaunt through New Hampshire and Vermont starting next Sunday.
Yesterday was crazy full, jam-packed.
It's tempting, sometimes, to think that it's better not to do vacay at all. So I don't notice the contrast. I also know this is the opposite solution to the problem.
Instead, I need to find ways to let every day have a breezy feel. To let the emotional tension, the relentless drive for more, bleed away. I want long walks and bird song. Less multi-tasking and more reading.
Maybe I need to fly more kites.
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Yes, yes, and yes. I feel your conundrum, Jeffe. I, too, need more breeze in my day, more kite-flying, even if it's only mental. I love vacations at the beach and you've reminded me how important taking a break can be!
ReplyDeleteGood luck on the edits and proposal. I'm sending warm breezes your way. :)
Can I third that?
ReplyDeleteComing off of vacay is so hard, especially when there are non-fun things awaiting us. Likek laundry and the Day Job. I wish I could spend my life on the white sands of the Bahamas. :)
I know you can knock those edits right out. :)
"Maybe I need to fly more kites." I love this. It's a reminder I could do with receiving daily.
ReplyDeleteMisty and Michelle - you're both right. The edits are breezy and I'm already halfway through.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, Deb, we all need to fly more kites! New resolution!