Friday, January 12, 2018

A Little Time Away

I have been spending countless hours every day as I do the rewrite of THE CHAIN GANG. Every day starts out the same. I go over a hard copy of the pages I’m going to work on. Often as not, I find something that requires me to go back and change something earlier in the manuscript. Then I move to the computer and start to actually redo what needs to be changed. The hours slip by unnoticed and suddenly it’s nighttime. The deadline is looming and I have a set number of pages I need to go each day to make it.

And then there was today. My knit and crochet group meets on Thursday mornings. My attendance is rather spotty. It seems there is always something someone has to have me do on Thursday mornings. They are a wonderful group and I always feel energized when I manage to get there. I thought I’d go for just an hour.

I had already committed to babysitting for Jakey in the afternoon. I did go over the hard copy of the pages I would have liked to have completed today while I drank my coffee. But that turned out to be the only work on the manuscript I got done, unless you count the perfect line I thought of and scribbled on an envelope in my purse.

The knit and crochet group was wonderful as always. I forgot about everything and just enjoyed all the company. I also worked on another version of the bracelet for the book. And since we meet at a Joann’s store, I got some more bracelet making supplies. It is fun trying all different kinds of cord and different stitches.

I brought along some work when I went to take care of Jakey, but who was I kidding. It was just Jakey the whole time. It is amazing to see how he is changing from being a baby to being a little boy. He was fascinated by the version of the bracelet I was wearing. The few hours I was supposed to take care of him turned into more hours when after his parents both got home we all visited.

By the time I got to my place it was too late to start working on pages. But I think I needed to take a step back and let a little fresh air blow through my mind. Hopefully, I’ll manage to make up for the time off tomorrow.

3 comments:

Linda Osborn said...

Yes, a little time away from a project can really refresh your thoughts and progress. More importantly though, is the way you spend that time away. Meeting with good friends is such a comforting and happy time, and as a grandma I can only encourage you to spend every minute you can with Jakey. My grandchildren are changing much too fast, several are already young
adults. Two of the youngest moved out of state this past summer, and I am still devastated ! You will never regret time spent with family and friends !

Betty Hechtman said...

Linda, family always comes first with me. They know that I drop everything for them. I am so grateful to be able to spend as much time as I do with Jakey. I didn't have any living grandparents, so it is my chance to be the grandmother that I wished I had.

Linda O. Johnston said...

Sounds as if all the things that are keeping you busy are important to you, Betty--and worth it. I'm sure your skills at doing each of them will help you achieve them all. And yes, spend all the time you can with Jakey. My two grandsons live far away and I treasure each time we're able to get together.