Woke up today and my brain just froze
Wow, I woke up today ready to head back to work after the holiday (yesterday seemed to not count somehow) and I sat down at my keyboard and just…froze. It was not really writers’ block, it just felt like coming to a full stop and not being able to start moving again. I stared at my screen for too long, clicked and read through the usual morning news sites without absorbing much, then went upstairs to read for a few minutes. I told Michael I felt paralyzed and he just said (kindly), “Sharpen the saw” (his favorite Franklin Covey mantra).
I did eventually get into gear, which looked like doing laundry and attacking ants in the kitchen–some tasks just cannot be ignored–but I have not written the epic blog post I had planned. It is swimming in my mind but I just can’t do it justice right now.
Here’s the good news: I am reading Ariel Gore‘s latest book Bluebird: Women and the New Psychology of Happiness, and it turns out she may be saying what I wanted to say better than I could. She is incisive and says things that sound revolutionary because they go against the conventional wisdom but make so much sense you think, why hadn’t I seen it that way before?
So stay tuned…I hope to finish her book in the next day or so and then maybe the blog post will materialize.
The fact that I have even written this much will have to count as success for today!
Hi Amy – That’s exactly how I felt when I returned to work on Wednesday! That’s the first time this has happened in a long time. However, this past weekend was also the first time I had spent a whole weekend in the sun: sailing and spending days on the beach. I said I had left my brain on the lake! I think this was coupled with the fact that I haven’t had serious time off in more than a year. But now I’m back at it—but I’m eagerly awaiting the next holiday weekend!
Hi Amy,
I enjoyed reading both of your recent posts.
This is my “first” email since I woke up in the hospital 4 weeks ago. Once I get a gmail account I might be able to send you email. The rehab hospital’s internet connection has a number of restrictions.
Love, Dad
p.s. No spell check
Amy — good for you for modeling that sometimes we have to raise our hand and say, “Present!” despite the fact that we don’t have something dazzling to present. As one who finds the stay-at-home-mom-gig a tough one, I’m clapping right now. (Literally.) When at home – 99% of the time — I also find it very easy to get sucked into unsatisfying, menial work and so very hard to do my own writing work.