Mombie – a bit of everything

A hard start to my day

When I headed to the hospital this morning for a routine appointment, I thought my biggest challenge was going to be finding a place to park.

But as the hospital loomed into view (does anything good ever loom into view?) I realized that this is the first time I have gone inside the hospital since my Dad died.

And that made it so difficult to drive that last little bit toward the hospital.

It was more of a dread of what I might feel than what I was feeling. (Not a great thing for my brain to do but brains are tricky monsters)

I filled up with what ifs

What if I can’t even go in?

What if the feelings weigh me down?

What if I start crying when I step inside?

So I was feeling bad in the moment AND anticipating feeling worse.

But as I started looking for somewhere to park, and got increasingly frustrated with not being able to find a spot, I managed to distract myself.

So coming into the hospital, late and in a hurry, kept my brain busy and by the time I got to my doctor’s office I was ok.

Well, mostly anyway.

Wishing myself an orderly week

I’m trying to set myself up for an orderly week by getting really specific about what I am going to do and when I am going to do it.

But I have to strike a balance between that and getting TOO specific and stressing myself out.

Let’s hope for the best.

Just a tree

There’s something I really like about the way this tree meets the ground. I’m a little concerned that it should be in deeper soil but in the meantime, the way its roots dig in is very pleasing to me.

A tree trunk with visible roots digging into the ground.
Image description: The bottom part of a tree’s trunk digs into the forest floor. Four separate roots point outward and downward from the trunk into the ground. It seems firmly anchored and deliberate. There are small green plants here and there amidst the brown dirt of the forest floor.

Writing is a challenge

So, I had planned to get some work done on my novel this week.

Spoiler: I have not.

There are very real reasons for this – it has been a jumbled week, I had a lot of other tasks on my list, I was sick…

But I did have time and energy to write.

What I didn’t do was the very thing I advise all my clients to do.

I did not get specific about my writing plans.

‘Work on my novel’ is not a specific plan, it’s a very general one. And besides, how will I know when I’m done?

‘Write an argument between Mike and Bug about the missing key chain’ – that’s specific.

I need to get that kind of specific about my next set of writing plans.

Unfortunately, that takes some forethought and planning and my brain is not cooperating on that sort of thing at the moment.

Brains can be such jerks.

A photo from a recent walk

I have always love Dogberry trees and when I found out that they are actually Rowan trees – the same Rowan trees mentioned in all kinds of magic fiction – I liked them even more.

A cluster of red berries in front of small green leaves
Image description: a close-up photo of part of a dogberry tree – a cluster of orange-red berries in front of leaves.