While I enjoy the changes of all the seasons, winter has always been my favorite. As a child, I hated being stuck inside for school, but still grew excited as each day grew colder. Each drop in temperature promised winter was soon to come, and snow would quietly blanket the world. I loved sledding and hot cocoa, and the tingle in my fingers as they thawed over a blazing fire.
As an adult, life is not so carefree. Winter is a time that needs preparation, with so many tasks handled by adults my childhood self did not appreciate. Firewood needs to be gathered, the house needs to be prepared for the cold, vehicles need snow tires, and the pantry needs to be filled in preparation for days when it is not as easy to run to the store. In the US, the holiday season is ramping up, to kick off with the gluttony of Thanksgiving next week. So now the house must also be prepared for the guests who will soon arrive.
What does this mean for blogging and writing? Most definitely, regular schedules will be hard to come by. When first setting a routine, the easiest time to be thrown off is in the beginning, before the patterns are set.
Carving out time in can be difficult, especially if it is for self-imposed deadlines. What should come first? The day job? The chores? Or taking a moment to refresh and recharge by appreciating the beauty of the world around us?
With so many responsibilities, it is too easy to put off the “fun stuff” for later, and let the drudgery take precedence. One must remember, the drudgery will always be there, but the fun will not. There will always be more firewood to gather, more dishes to wash, and maintenance to complete. While I do not advocate ignoring your responsibilities, it is important to also add the color to life at times, or the days all blend together in one bland memory of gray.
I am working setting my effective and consistent schedule, but it is not yet automatic. I still have my weekly schedule of expected posts, but, as you can see, I might not hit my targets. I don’t yet have any posts for my Tuesday’s topic, Turning Points In History, as these require a bit more research than the stuff that I pull from my own thoughts or imagination, like I do the rest of the week. I am committed to doing the Tuesday turning points, since people are often not aware of how easily history could have turned out drastically different.
Now the snow has melted a bit, and I need to do some yard work before the next dusting arrives. It is not quite as much fun as I had as a child in the cold, but now I do have much better gloves!
If you want to read what I write, check out the first episode of the serial: Betrayer Awakened, Season 1 Episode 1″Escape”.