Blogging has taken up my life for the past month.
Okay, maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but it seems like it. I start in the morning with my laptop and cup of coffee. I may head over to The Daily Post to see if there’s something to inspire me if I don’t already have something already in mind. I look forward to the fiction writing challenge days where I can wrestle my creativity into something that, hopefully, you will enjoy reading. Some days I am lost, sitting for extended time with my computer on, but no happy clicking of the keyboard. Some days I just peruse what you have written.
But there is life beyond blogging, right?
“Mom, you’re always on the computer.” It’s a complaint I hear often. I hope it’s not entirely true, and the fact that it’s coming from teenage boys who are often on their own devices makes me think it’s code for I’m hungry. Feed me. But it is a reminder not to be on my computer too much.
Life calls, as it should. It is, after all, out there, not in here. There are chores to be done and kids to feed. The seasonal changes in the yard inspire me to break out the gardening gloves and the camera. Pumpkins from the garden beg to be cooked into bread and pies. Tomatoes in jars line the shelves, as do tomatillos, ready for winter salsa. And every moment playing Frisbee with the pup is to her a moment of heaven.
Work calls me away from my screen, but also gives me inspiration. I see hundreds of small faces, usually smiling, but occasionally troubled. They ply me with pictures of homes and rainbows and 2-D versions of themselves with plastered smiles. Their exuberance and energy give me hope for the future. I hope I make a difference in those small lives. They make a difference in mine.
It’s only outside my computer that I can breathe the humus-filled air and listen to the birds and rushing water. Mr. A and I have our favorite spots now that we like to revisit, trails that skirt gorgeous stretches of river through fir, hemlock and cedar forest or through fields of alpine wildflowers to get to a spectacular view, but it requires shutting off the computer.
I could go on and on. There are so many reasons to close the screen. All I have to do is remember them.
And because there’s always another side, and life isn’t all “out there,” I have to share this wonderfully penned response from lifelessons .
Views From Around the Corner 