Emerging...

I am carefully emerging from my self-spun cocoon. I've spent the past few weeks centering and refocusing, embracing quiet solitude while the world spins madly on. I have felt much as the landscape, an expansive monochrome of browns and grays with small patches of green and the occasional push of blooms. It seems as though spring is tentatively peeking out as well.

For half a decade, I've chronicled my experiences on a nearly daily basis. And while it has been a wonderful experience for the most part, it was refreshing to step away. I spent as little time as possible in front of a computer, and instead relished writing with a pen on paper and making work without worrying about if it'll sell or if I'll meet my deadlines. I took time to take stock, make plans and dream quietly. I cleaned and organized, regrouped and rearranged. I howled at the moon, hugged kitties, and helped in little ways in my community. I prayed, I cried, and then I prayed again. I watched the herds of deer and flocks of wild turkey weave their ways between the leafless trees. It was good to be introverted and to coil up in my shell.

Of course, my hiatus came at a cost. I missed several important deadlines, am far behind in my correspondence with an inbox that looks positively frightful, and will have to do some fast thinking to recoup from not working for such a long stretch of time. It was worth it though.