What is up? How have you all been? Did you survive the never ending winter? Have you been back in the dirt?
Yes, I know it’s been a while since we last spoke. I hope you missed me, even just a little bit? If not, I totally get it. I wouldn’t have missed me and I’m a huge fan of me.
What have I been up to the last three months? Thanks so much for asking.
Writing a novel
Yes, I plotted out a story one night for fun and never looked back. The book is dark, it’s kind of violent, it’s twisted, it’s sweet and it has no gardening references. I just reached the 85,000 word mark and I can safely say that the true first draft is complete.
But here’s the thing: I have no idea if it’s decent or really sucks. Seriously. I have no right to believe I can snap my fingers and write a thriller. But I did just that. And I loved every single second of it. I got such a thrill from outlining, writing, editing, giving up, starting again, getting educated on how to write dialogue, dumping many ideas and coming up with new plot twists. The process was and is super enjoyable.
I now have the draft in the hands of a few others and I wait for their feedback. I received incredible direction from my wife and an old friend from high school after they read an early copy. I did my best to absorb that feedback and I can admit that they were 100% accurate in their assessments. A thicker skin is developing and I’m proud of that.
I’m sure this project will carry on for many more months and I’ll dance between “it’s the first one so it won’t be very good but you’ll learn a lot” and “you have to believe it’s great in order to finish it and hit the ‘publish’ button.”
I promise I won’t bore you with any more details the next few months.
Spring Training
Yes, we went to Port St. Lucie, FL again to watch our beloved New York Mets. Here are a few pics from a few weeks back.
College search
I just returned from a week’s worth of college visits in the southeast. My son is a junior in high school and we’re knee deep in the college prep era. We visited five schools starting with James Madison University and ending with North Carolina State University. It was an insane amount of driving as we ventured as far south as the University of Florida. But it was oh so worth it. A road trip loaded with memories, laughs, fast food and deep life discussions.
And FYI, college is expensive as hell, in case you hadn’t heard.
Life
I’m a coach for my daughter’s travel softball team.
That same daughter is very involved in lots of other things.
Work.
Date nights where we can fit them in.
Which brings me to the reason you’re all here in the first place.
The garden.
I have no clue how I’m going to keep up with it this year. I’m overwhelmed and it’s only early spring. I have no delusions of grandeur thinking I can wake up early each morning or work late into the night in order to pull it off. We have multiple softball games every weekend now through the middle of July. Damn kids and their stuff.
Where this blog goes from here I have no idea. I stopped projecting a long time ago. I could end it all together or post three times a week moving forward. The second I make one declaration, I usually do the opposite. So only time will tell.
I did manage to get outside for a bit earlier in the week. And I limited my scope as much as possible. The only way to attack it is to do it in small chunks. Tackle one small section and enjoy that small section when it is done. It’s working, so far.
There is still little going on, but enough to stoke the gardening fire.
I’ll take it.
