Seriously, Venting is Not Whining


The pace sure has picked up for me here in the last month. Seems like there just isn’t enough time for everything I need to do. Even after a week off from my day job, I’m feeling stressed.

Don’t get me wrong–I’m not complaining. I’m grateful for each and every item on my over-full plate. But until I adjust to the additional weight, keeping the plate balanced so nothing falls off the side is going to be a challenge.

As is often the case, it’s not so much one thing as the many. Again, I’m not complaining. My busy would still be a welcome and relaxing change of pace for any mother with children still at home. I’m fully aware that being me is really not that hard. I’m spoiled. But it’s my blog so I’m going to continue to vent. It’s not whining. There’s a difference.

I’m working under a new dean and associate dean at my day job (both of whom I really like), and will have a new department head in January. The transition has meant changes to the normal ebb and flow of work routines I’d settled into over the last fifteen years. Change is good, but requires a lot of adjusting. I have new responsibilities for twenty percent of my time, am wrapping up a big grant project, and just launched a two-year program for middle-school youth all on top of the normal day-to-day stuff.

Figuring out the demands of my role as a soon-to-be-published author has also been a challenge. There’s a lot more to it than I thought! I need to keep making progress on my next book, stay on top of deadlines for the release of Until Thanksgiving, and network with other writers to get my name out there. No doubt I’ll add to this list once my book is released. Figuring out how much time to allocate to these different tasks is going to take a while.

Until a few weeks ago, managing this blog meant sitting down a few times a week for an hour or so to crank something out. There were no real deadlines, so no big deal if I missed a post or two here and there. Not anymore. The new “Meet the Author” feature for Mondays has been expanded to include Thursdays and is booked through this month and into November. And for every guest post you see here, I’ve written one to appear somewhere else. Now that I’m booked so far out, the pressure has eased a bit.

If I’m going to keep writing (and I am), then my participation in the Athens Writers Group is no longer just for fun. I need the feedback. That means I need to read and critique the work of the other writers, too. They all write really well so it’s not a chore–just another thing to squeeze into my routine.

In the last few weeks, It’s been a pleasure to meet writers from the U.K., New Zealand, and numerous states here in the U.S. via email, Facebook, Twitter and the Dreamspinner Press message board. They’ve welcomed me into the family with open arms and been generous with their advice. Having met them, I can’t wait to read the novels they’ve written, but at this point, still haven’t figured out a way to make that happen. But I will.

I didn’t gain any weight over our vacation which means (fingers crossed), I’ve finally vanquished the ten pounds I’ve been wrestling since May of last year. The accomplishment and that it took so long has made saying no and pushing away from the table a little easier.

My exercise program hasn’t completely gone over the cliff. I’ve been hitting the gym for strength training at least once a week–shy of the three I need but better than nothing. I run once or twice a week, and hope to run more now that the weather is starting to cool down some. And with the addition of a new Tuesday class, I’ll get an hour of Zumba in at least three times a week now instead of just twice.

Right now, I need to get up from here and mow. We’ve needed to mow for three weeks but couldn’t because it was raining every time we had the chance. Mowing knee-high bermuda grass is going to keep me busy for the rest of the day, here at…

My Glass House


2 responses to “Seriously, Venting is Not Whining”

  1. I have to finish mowing my yard today too. I was all psyched up and ready to get it all done yesterday, and had my groove on … but the rain cut my plans short. So instead of a Sunday afternoon nap, I’ll be getting all sweaty and dirty again. But – at least there is the reward of how nice the yard looks, and the satisfaction that “I did that”. Hope you have a great week!