Thursday, March 14, 2013

What I Did On My Brain-cation

It's always disorienting to finish a manuscript. Partly because I'm staggering around like a zombie for at least a day or two afterward --  sleep deprived,
yet pumped up on caffeine. An insane hairdo and clothing that should be donated somewhere (but is too comfortable to part with) complete my post-deadline, night of the living dead look.


And people say my life isn't glamorous.
 
With an ample reserve of caffeine in my bloodstream, I clean the house and whip through piles of laundry like a dervish. Then collapse. I wake, like a character in a fairytale, a strange calm settling over my life for a day or two.
 
Yes, my household chores have backed up like a clogged sink. But stepping out of my office, I'm like someone returning home from a long trip. Or maybe an astronaut, leaving the tiny, paper-filled capsule for a space walk. I float free, with little sense of up, down or sideways.


I meet friends for coffee and even lunch. (A meal I have not been eating much lately.) I try a new recipe. Return to gym (ugh!) But even the burn in my muscles feels good.
 
I take the dogs for a walk and while I was locked away, lo these many weeks, snow drifts have melted. Tufts of grass and even a few very small, but brave flowers sprout from the cold earth.


There are pansies at the nursery and chocolate bunnies at the supermarket. It's funny how familiar things look strange to me, and new. 

This is a phase of my work cycle I like. A most necessary brain-cation. If there was a green smoothie I could drink to flush the toxins from my neural pathways, I would. Instead, I'll clean out a closet, or take a pile of books down to the post office. And definitely catch up on all those missed episodes of "Downton Abbey."
 

A revision letter is on it's way and I'll be back in the capsule soon, being "productive." But for now I'm a happy space walker, replenishing the images and energy. Enjoying the stars.






7 comments:

Linda O. Johnston said...

Welcome back to the world, Anne. I'll bet your dogs are glad to see you and go for that walk! Now... I'd better get back to work.

Anonymous said...

Could you give a hint -- just a tiny one -- about the plot of this next book?

Betty Hechtman said...

This is the first comment I have sent from my phone. Anne, I can certainly relate. You really captured the feeling well.

Betty Hechtman said...

This is the first comment I have sent from my phone. Anne, I can certainly relate. You really captured the feeling well.

Unknown said...

The revision letter arrives as I was writing that. Don't tell me editor, haven't opened it yet. :)

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chrystle Fiedler said...

Congrats on completing the ms! Your description of what happens after you finish a project is what happens to me! When I'm in the middle of a ms. I have to make sure that I'm dressed appropriately when I go out, I'm so absorbed in the world of my book!

I'm sure that you'll you fly through those revisions as the pro you are! Chrystle