Spring is in the air

Today was such a wonderful day in the Albany area! Bright sun, silky air, temps in the seventies; it's as if spring is actually here. Now I'm a seasoned upstater, having lived here my entire life, so I know not to pack away my ice scraper and snow boots, but , as an upstater, I know that we eventually reach the tipping point and glide into that most enticing of seasons. I think today was that tipping point. Just too nice out there.


I helped out at my daughter's softball league's field day, cutting and rolling sod, skinning infields, etc. I ran, too, two and a half miles on the pavement (first since my bout with a stomach bug on the first half of the vacation), which felt great. And then, as my oldest went to a movie, I took my youngest window shopping for clothes for her newly purchased "American Girl" doll (Mia, a cute 18" doll that I mercifully didn't pay for- she actually saved her money and bought it on her own). The air on the ride home was sweet and smooth, the night sky a compendium of shades and tints as the sun went down, and the crickets and peepers were out in force. A truly amazing way to end the night and the vacation.

Just a super night, a night for reflection, a night for celebration for all of those who have cause, and a night for joy and reverence. I hope that all who are out and about tonight are enjoying what seems to be a most magical night.

Well, its a marvelous night for a moondance
With the stars up above in your eyes
A fantabulous night to make romance
neath the cover of october skies
And all the leaves on the trees are falling
To the sound of the breezes that blow
And Im trying to please to the calling
Of your heart-strings that play soft and low
And all the nights magic seems to whisper and hush
And all the soft moonlight seems to shine in your blush. (Van Morrison)

Yeah, it isn't October, but the lyrics are sure great. God I love spring!

Redefining me

So one of the big questions when you write is whether or not you should try to recreate yourself if things aren't going well. I guess I'm thinking about this because things really aren't going well. I'm stuck in a bit of a rut, as I've watched my writing life come to a standstill. There are so many factors that play into this deadening of momentum, but they're boring, and probably cliche (Oh, how I hate those), so I won't go into them now. The epigraph for this blog is from Anne Tyler, and I like it, but right now I'd settle for just one life!

So should I recreate myself and try something new? Sci-Fi? Fantasy? Romance (ha! That's a good one.)? It sort of smacks of throwing in the towel, doesn't it? And I cringe at the amount of time it would take to readjust the whole mechanism of my head. I have so many story ideas that would just die the death I fear they eventually will anyway, and I don't want that to happen. I just can't see it happening. I may not have the same competitive drive I had as a college athlete, but I'm not conceding just yet.

I guess, instead of reinventing myself, I should just celebrate who I am. In the end, success comes with perseverance. It's hard, though. Some days, when all seems lost, you just have to suck it up and keep writing.