Mid-week update today to make up for the one I missed: I turned in the latest draft of the manuscript to my editor.
I stayed up far too late Tuesday night, into Wednesday morning, finishing revisions. Sometime these last few weeks I realized that you never really stop making grade-school crafts or scrambling to meet college essay and project deadlines; you keep doing these same things, in different forms, well after you’re done with school. But maybe becoming an artist is the process of moving those external motivations internal – or internal again, the way they are for younger children, making things for the thrill of seeing them made. “Beginner’s mind” and whatnot.
There’s still plenty of work to do for the next round, but I suspect that the earlier-draft sprawl has finally come to an end, that now will begin a period of contraction, of honing; in the rush to furnish the house, I’ve acquired more than I need, and will have to cull the pieces to just what is essential and life-bringing.
That’s both a metaphor and not!
But first: Recovery. I woke up with a mild stress cold Wednesday morning; though I got my best night of sleep in months last night. This morning Julia asked what my intention was for the day, and I said it was just to relax, and recover. There are always more things to do, more projects, small and large, to start and finish. But for now, at least, I’m taking the time I need.
Happy Year of the Rat …