Playing Catch Up

Once again, I apologize for being absent on Mondays. I started this blog back in 2011 and rarely missed a Monday. This year has been different. Between the weather (the winter that never left), my mood (winter blahs that bordered on depression), and my health (pneumonia), this blog suffered. I kept up with my commitments on Paranormal Romantics, The Roses of Prose, and Pandora’s Box Gazette, though. Isn’t that typical? We don’t want to let others down, so we push ourselves to complete projects, yet we ignore commitments to ourselves.

On the writing front: I’m still working on Numbers Never Lie, my romantic suspense. Every weekend, I share a 10-sentence snippet with Weekend Writing Warriors. I’ve loved the comments. So encouraging. I just have about 10,000 words to go. But, it’s the same 10k that’s been staring me in the face all month. I need a kick in the pants to finish. I’m sure Hubs will be happy to oblige. 😊

Spring finally came yesterday. The sun is shining. The temp is in the 60s, approaching 70. The spring flowers—daffodils and tulips—are poking their tips out of the ground. It’s amazing how the weather affects mood. I feel more energy, excited to get moving.

My health is a topic I’d prefer not to talk about—even though I’ve used the bout with pneumonia as fodder for other blogs. I went to the doctor’s last week for a follow up visit and to discuss recent blood work. Lack of energy and short of breath upon the slightest exertion worried me. Last spring, I had congestive heart failure, so I worried about that returning. The blood work confirmed what I’ve been expecting. Diabetes. At this point, the doctor said it hasn’t damaged my body. He attributes all my symptoms (chronic back pain, shortness of breath, and diabetes) to being overweight. At every visit, he’s told me to exercise more. How do you exercise when your back is killing you? He asked what weight loss programs I’ve tried in the past that worked. Weight Watchers. Then he “ordered” me to join. Losing twenty pounds, he said, would make a difference. (Never mind I have several 20 pounds to lose.) So, I joined online and will attend my first in-person meeting tomorrow. By announcing this, I’m putting myself on notice. I can’t backslide or give up, not when other people know about it.

On a happier note: Saturday, I had a rare treat. I took my oldest grandchild to lunch. Just she and I—no sibling, no parents, no granddad. She’s ten (closing in on eleven) and very mature. In so many ways, she reminds me of her mother. For years, people have said she looks like her mom. While I agree, I see more of our daughter’s personality in her. Serious, studious, a hard worker, a reader, a leader. Yet, she has her own personality, too. She’s bubbly and fun-loving. She’s a dancer (ballet), a Girl Scout, plays violin, and is active in church. Yesterday, she was an acolyte at the early service and read Scripture at the second. Best of all, she’s a great conversationalist. From the time I picked her up, through lunch, and almost all the way back to her house, she carried on a conversation with me. No one-word answers to my questions. We talked about school, her summer plans, what she’s reading (always a good topic LOL) and the previous night’s sleepover at a girlfriend’s. It’s probably obvious I am very proud of her. And proud of her parents for raising such a good kid. This was so much fun for me, I plan to do it often with her and the other grandkids. The ones who can talk. I think it will be a while before the twins are ready for lunch with grandma.

Have a great week. I promise to do better with this blog.