The older I get, the faster time seems to pass. I can’t believe it’s nearly the middle of March. What happened to winter?

The last month of the year always goes by fast. This December went by at a record-setting pace. On top of the usual end-of-year and holiday rush, preparing to teach a class for the first time in thirty years kept me uber busy.

January usually feels like the longest of the twelve months. Not this year. The flu kept me in bed for most of the month. Sickest I’ve been in more than twenty years. Classes continued, deadlines passed, and work piled up. My inbox filled up with hundreds of email messages, and all I could do was sleep.

February passed in a blur too. Catching up kept me busy at work. My ex moved back in with me early in the month to focus on graduate school. We’re not back together — it’s complicated. Shifting things around to make room added hours of pile shifting to my already overfull schedule.

Edits for The Case of the Missing Drag Queen came fast and furious starting in late January and continuing through February and into early March. DSP Publications has streamlined the production process. Preorders will be accepted later this month — 12 weeks in advance of the June 19th release and two months earlier than I expected.

A high school friend who’s birthday is a week before mine drove down from Lexington the first week of March to pick me up for a weekend in Florida to celebrate out 60th birthdays. She brought pizza from Sir Pizza (a high school hangout), made a lovely and delicious birthday cake, and had CDs versions of the 8-tracks we listened to more than forty years ago.

Fort Walton beach was lovely with sunny skies and highs into the 70s. Our adjoining rooms overlooked the pool and the ocean. We’ve spent very little time together since high school and had a lot to catch up on. In between naps, sun-bathing, and walks, I ate enough seafood to feed a flock of seagulls for several days. Visiting with a dear friend who lives in the area was a bonus.

I haven’t run or been to the gym this year. Tendinitis in my right foot keeps me from running. I have good days and bad days. The doctor said I can run again when I have a few weeks of good days in a row. Just as well. That’s one less thing to cram into my schedule.