Our lives as a family are running a bit out of control. All right, it’s so out of control, I’m scared to write in everything on a daily basis. In fact, if you look at the photo of our calendar below, I’m not adding everything. I can’t stomach the sheer busy-ness when I do. It’s too much. Too much.
And it’s our reality right now. We literally cut one activity from our schedule to have another take its place.
One symptom of the out-of-control nature of our current family life is that about two days after Eric and I returned from our trip to England, I wanted to move the family there. Why? Because while we were there we rambled around cities. There were few obligations on me. Few places we had to be at any certain time — a few of course, but not many. Because during that idyllic week no one could place excess demands on us. We were gone. Social media took a back seat. Email took a back seat. The phone didn’t ring. It was glorious. And within a few days of being home, I longed for that unrealistic space in life to return. And it stands in stark contrast to a calendar I purposely don’t complete because it’s too overwhelming — an example of a life that is being lived out-of-balance.
The reality is that as my kids are older, their activities often go until at least 8 p.m. Then we head home, eat, and bedtime for the little two is nine if we are lucky. As a result, I’ve lost what used to be golden writing time.
We are rushing so much, that we’ve lost the sense of SELAH in our lives: the ability to pause. My husband and I are frequently talking about the desire we have to recapture even one night a week of pausing as a family. Of entering a SELAH moment.
Another reality is that I am under deadline for a book I’m excited to write for my dream publisher and editor. The reality is that I need time and mental space to dig deep enough to do this. So I’m going on a hiatus of sorts. A pause you might call it. I will still post at The Writers Alley, The Grove, Novel PASTimes, and Inspired by Life & Fiction — and I’ll be sure to post teasers and links here. I will also continue posting Fiction Friday posts. But until I have the first draft of this novel completed, that may be the extent of my blogging. I am removing the pressure on myself to write three posts a week here plus the others.
I have a feeling I’ll still have additional posts, but it will be as I really feel I have something to say and contribute.
Until then, thanks for reading. And prayers are so appreciated!
Cara