I have run away.

After two weeks of kids on spring vacation and a freelance project on the side, I’ve not been able to write anything for Book 2 in way too long. With each day that passed I was getting grumpier to kids and bitchier to adults. Without even realizing it, I’d let fear take over. This book became something I had to do, an obligation—like an annual exam or helping a friend move. I was simultaneously feeling guilty about not working on it and dreading working on it.

So the day after I came home from California, I left for the weekend. Jumped in the car with my laptop minutes after deciding to go, leaving the kids and the supportive husband to fend for themselves. (To assuage my guilt here, I must add that the kids love it when I go away so they can have “Super Dad Weekend” and Scott had just had five child-free days at home.)

But the point of this whole post, without trying to sound too Oprah-esque, is to say that I have turned my feelings about Book 2 from fear back into joy. The first night here I read a short but dense book that I needed to really understand as the basis for research for Book 2, but had been far too distracted to read at home. So I finished it and then went out and sat out under the stars, which at this high altitude are incredible. I thought about the information in the book under the clear night sky and BOOM! I figured out the key. That pesky ending? Check! Suddenly I was giddy and excited to write; for the first time, Book 2 had turned from an obligation to a privilege. Someone was going to publish this thing! How could I have been such a brat about it? Can I hire one of you to kick my a** if I start getting grumpy about this again?

Sure, I have a lot of work to do in a short amount of time, but it’s doable. And, more important, it will be fun!