Worry? Who, Me?

          What a week! More snow, and more hazardous driving. Thank goodness my mom is with my brother down south, so I don’t have to worry about her being out in this stuff! That leaves me more time to worry about my kids and grandkids. It just never ends, does it? I guess I’m a worrier by nurture. Definitely not by nature. You see, my mom is the Queen of Worriers, so growing up I took the stance that if she was going to worry about it, I didn’t have to. 

          That worked up to a point. Once I became a mom, the worrying gene kicked in. I still think my mom worries a lot more than I do, but I seem to have a much more difficult time falling asleep than I used to. During the day I don't worry much, but at night my mind doesn’t want to wind down because there’s always one more thing that I need to remember for the next day. Now that I’m writing a lot more and have several projects in various stages of publishing, I have more and more details to remember - more things to look up, more people to contact, more promo to work on. And then there’s my teaching, and my music, and my crafts and sewing…

          So I started writing lists. I’ve always had to-do lists, but now they’re more detailed. I write EVERYTHING down that I need to do, because it seems like I get so easily distracted that I forget lots of details. It seems like I’m always writing things down. As I write this I have two lists next to the laptop: one is my list of things I need to finish yet tonight (there are still five items left), and the other one is for tomorrow (three there so far).

          I’m not sure if I’m more productive or not, but it seems I sleep better when I write detailed lists. It might be because things are actually done - or it might be that crossing things off makes me feel like I can sleep without wondering what I forgot to do. And sleep is a wonderful thing.

Sewing/crafting: I seem to have an awful lot of panels around here! I made more napkins - I’d originally planned to keep these for future giveaways, but decided to send them to a fellow author Calico Daniels, who writes the Redneck Fabulous series for Astraea Press. I sent her this picture and she liked them, so I’ll pack them up for her to use as promo. I also managed to get a few more tote bags put together for her to send out with Astraea Press promotional items. So now, according to my list, I have to pack all this up and get it ready to take to the post office tomorrow!

Reading: I finished reading Zach’s Rebound Girl by Monique DeVere and wrote a review. Now I’m reading Savage Deception by R. T. Wolfe. Definitely a change of pace, going from contemporary light romance to hard core suspense. I’m hosting R. T. in April and need to have a review ready by then. 

March Madness

It’s mid-March, and a lot of people are glued to their televisions wondering whether or not their people will prevail. Will they overcome their obstacles and succeed? Or will adversity overtake them?

No, I’m not talking about baseball. I’m talking about the disasters in Japan. My cousins, aunts and uncles are experiencing madness right now. They were far enough away from the earthquake in Sendai that although they felt (and continue to feel) aftershocks, they were safe. They were far enough that the tsunami did not sweep away their communities. And so far, the nuclear threat has not reached them.

But there are hardships. The trains are not running according to their normally super-precise schedules, and electricity is being conserved via planned blackouts. Supplies are running out, even for those not living in the areas affected by the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power problems.

I know there are ways to help the general public. There are all sorts of organizations to which I can donate money. And there are groups heading over there to help out. One of the GVSU groups I belong to is hosting a fund raiser for relief efforts. And I’ve been in contact with my cousins. If any of them mentions a need I can fill, I’ll be all over it.

But most of all, I’m on my knees each morning and evening. There is only One who can keep them safe, and I’m appealing to Him. Please join me.