Yesterday was an amazing day! I woke up to a world lightly dusted with sparkling snow. As a Mainer, I almost felt like I was back home. Just a little bit. That alone automatically should’ve made yesterday perfect, but wait…there’s more.

The times when my kiddo is gone can be tough. I have found that staying busy is best and it keeps me productive. Let’s face it, there’s always plenty of “life” to do on the weekends. So this weekend was no different.

Except that it was.

Yesterday I decided to let “life” just sit and chill for a moment while I took the time to do what I wanted to do. Shocking, I know. But if I want to make a career out of writing, and believe me I really, really do, then that means that my regular life will have to sit and stay quiet for small moments while I struggle and squirm in my writing chair.

I admit that I stayed in my PJs all day, not completely unheard of, and sat with my manuscript and worked on my book for about six hours total. That’s six hours of time spent in the world I created and talking with my characters as I cleaned up the story. Six hours! That never happens!

Sure, I took small breaks to change over the laundry. And then there was the dog.

This dog right here.

Who can focus with these eyes watching and pleading? This ball of fur wanted nothing more than to be outside in the snow before it melted away. I forced her to come in periodically because it was 20 degrees out and she is arthritic. When she was ready to return to the arctic temps, she let me know.

Enjoying the blizzard.

So, life did sneak in a few times. Overall, I am extremely proud of myself for shooing it away and staying focused on my book. And I realized that I really, really do want to do this full-time. It was the first day in a long time that ended with me feeling proud and content.

Status update: I’m over half-way with my edits/revisions. Soon I’ll be ready to hand it over to some readers for feedback.

In the meantime, I’m going to practice pausing moments in life while I figure this stuff out.

Happy writing to all of my writing friends! We can do this!