It was great! I'm an early riser and would write or do whatever was needed while my husband slept in. But we had no responsibilities while we were there. No decisions bigger than, "Do we eat in or out tonight?" were required.
As time moved forward, we started to feel the pull toward home and all that awaited us here. First, we need a full week to recover from being 8 time zones away. We began to get email from family needing our time and our help on our return. Yes, they gave us the required recovery time, but they also gave us the hacking cough/cold that lingers (up to a month according to my doctor) when we were picked up at the airport. A week later, we were nearly immobile from this terrible virus.
But the help was still needed, the time still required by family. There was no way to avoid these obligations. Sick and tired and overrun, I had to give up any semblance of working. Emails were quick and blunt.
But how do writers cope? We do what we can, where we can. I couldn't focus on the book that needed a second draft, so I printed it out. It waits patiently for me. I've been reading and catching up on reviewing books.
Lately, I've been tweaking my older book Sweet Ride! I love this story and I was dismayed to learn that for some ad placements it was too short. By two pages. Yes. I just typed that. Two pages.
I've been going through it, deepening emotional responses, adding some needed colour, polishing the characters, brightening the prose. When I'm done it will not be a brand new book, but it will be a better read, a read more in keeping with the work I do now. I didn't have the creative juice to do second draft level work, but this, I can do.
Writers write. Even when we're sick and tired of being sick and tired.
An update: A full week after starting this post, we're still terribly ill. Nearly 3 weeks and counting. The doctor tells us it could linger for up to 2 months. We sound like lovelorn sea lions barking for a mate. Ugly. I've given up on the tweaking of Sweet Ride and am now noodling around with cover art. Because that's all I can manage to think about.
My post earlier this month had a Dinosaur egg hidden. Happy to inform you that said hatchling is now playing with my grandson. This time, the trick is to find the eggs I've added to a social media post.
https://twitter.com/BonnieEdwards
amazon.com/author/bonnieedwards
https://www.facebook.com/Bonnie.Edwards.Author/
In order to enter the contest, you will need to make a note of the following: The date of the post, the author’s name, where you found the egg (which social media site), and the color of the egg. Should you find an egg on our Facebook page, note where you found the egg, the date you found it, and the color of the egg. Then, using the “Contact the Romance Gems” link on the bottom left-hand sidebar of the Romance Gems blog site, send us an email with the details of your discovery. Please also include your full name as part of the email.
And Happy Happy Easter!
I usually get sick after catching an international flight (not sure if that was your case). The air conditioning combined with standing near so many strangers for hours makes me weak.
ReplyDeleteProbably you arrived weak, and then easily caught the virus.
Did you know that airplanes are one of the dirtiest public places possible? That's because they never have enough time to clean! I'm not so fussy about cleaning, but... in this video, they found germs / fecal coliforms on the headrest. Ewwww!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZUVbQrVZIU
Okay, I'll stop with all the germ talk. I hope you get better soon!
Iris, thanks! We were right off the plane when we caught it. DD was a "little congested" when we picked her up. The whole time we were away we felt great and I even commented that we weren't seeing anyone from anywhere else who was sick. All in all the vacation was healthy. (never should've come home)
DeleteYes!!! That was a sign to not come home!
DeleteI fully commiserate with you on catching the viral infection from others!
ReplyDeleteI had an unrelated, scheduled doctor's appointment last month, but being in a stuffy, enclosed space (it was inside a mall) made it all the easier for me to come down with what seemed like flu symptoms. I was also immobilized! It was shocking. I felt like my temperature ran hot, fatigued no matter how much rest, and the worst bouts of cough! Usually when I have a cold, my nose drips like a old, leaky faucet. Nope, not this time. You don't really appreciate how healthy you are until you're affected! Take care of you & hubby and vice versa.
Glad you were able to get some writing, reading, reviewing, and more writing in! I'm also more productive in the wee hours when everyone else is still sleeping and I've just woken up.
p.s. I have no doubt that Iris is correct on the airplane one. People spend hours there, eating, sleeping, going to the washroom, etc. and they never clean the spaces properly! Same goes for buses, and pretty much every public space including your doctor's office lol.
You're in Canada, too. This thing is sweeping the country and I fully believe it could be the end for some people with compromised health. The cough is horrible.
DeleteI agree. Going to the doctor's office is a big gamble. I came down with something from going there. Went to have my skin checked but came home with something that made me sicker. Life is a gamble they say. Take care. It's harder when you work for yourself to say my boss says I can't take off more time.
ReplyDeleteA great post. I hope things have twined back together by now and that you're feeling well.
ReplyDeleteWe're not Liz. The doctor said it would linger and it really is. It's the oddest virus we've ever had.
DeleteSo sorry you aren't feeling well! Take the time to rest and get better.
ReplyDeleteI went to SA a few years ago. Picked something up on the plane on the way over. Was sick as a dog the whole trip, lingered almost 2 months once I got home. I felt terrible travelling home with it, knowing I was making others sick, but all the echinacea in the world didn't help me. I take wet wipes now and wipe down all available surfaces in my space. It helps a bit.
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed how productive you were on Vacay, Bonnie. I hoped to be, but so far it's pool, beach, cocktails. And catch up on my reading. Manana for the work.
Thanks Kathleen...but when you're living in a place for a couple of months it's not the same. We were shopping for food, doing laundry, and waving at the daycare centre kids. It's a different kind of winter break. We'll talk when you get back! Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteHow come I'm not following you? Following you everywhere now! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteBonnie, I hope you and hubby kick this illness asap! I had my own bout with the crud but had to keep going too. Not fun at all!
ReplyDeleteI took him for a chest x-ray to see if there's anything in his lungs. I think it's clear, but he always believes he's sicker than anyone else in the entire world, ever. It's a man thing...
DeleteThe last two times we went on a plane my husband came down with a horrible cough that didn't go away for weeks at a time. The first time I caught something that lasted a week. I finally convinced him to go to a doctor because I thought maybe he had bronchitis or pneumonia or something, but the doctor said no. Amazing how far this bug has spread! I hope you feel better, Bonnie!
ReplyDelete