88º ~ aaaaaand, we have a heat index: feels like 90º ~ it’s tiny, but it’s there ~ for those up North, this is like when you see the first report of a wind chill in the winter, a reminder of bigger extremes to come.
∞
There’s an image in my head of the dutiful writer I should be, attached to my keyboard every free moment (confession: in my head I see a Bartleby figure in ratty clothes, fingerless gloves, shivering from lack of heat, squinting from lack of light). I suffer from “dutiful writer syndrome” especially once school is out, as this is precious time hard earned.
Yesterday, two great friends helped me remember the importance of recharging. We had a collage day at my house. All writers and professors by trade & calling, we spent five hours sifting through images, building collages, smearing glue, and finishing our tasty cheese-fruit-veggie lunch with the most delicious homemade strawberry-rhubarb cupcakes. As we worked, we often turned to one another for advice or simply to share a spectacular image or combination of images. More often, we joked and laughed so hard my abs feel like I actually did a workout. Not once did we get bogged down in shoptalk or venting.
Reader, it was glorious.
Today, I’ve been busy with my duties as the director of the C. D. Wright Women Writers Conference as we get ready to unveil our accepted panels and open up our registration. My summer of writing will be interspersed with work for the conference, but it is work I know will pay off royally in the end (and much of it won’t need to be repeated in future years, thank the stars & all the planetary bodies!). As I’ve worked, I’ve had renewed energy and a sense of well-being, thanks to a day of friends & self-care.
Here’s a look at my collage from yesterday; I’ve decided it’s not finished and plan to work on the lower 1/3 this evening.
Image description: stylized leaping cat in center of rectangular collage, portrait aligned; surrounding cat: one human eye, head & neck of a woman, books, jacket, a single die, butterfly, small lounge chair, curtains, leaf, button, fragments of a letter
I wish you all the time & space to recharge!