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Thursday, March 12, 2015

Commitment Madness! by DL Larson

I feel a bit like Chicken Little in the reverse. Instead of saying, "the sky is falling!" I'm tempted to holler, "the snow is melting!" And that is a great thing! Spring is slipping into Illinois in a nice way for a change. It's exciting and already most have shed their winter coats for hoodies or no coat at all. I saw a few brave souls in flip-flops today. Oh, to have my toes free!  Free of socks and boots! It's what dreams are made of!

I've been looking forward to this weekend for several months now - it's our Windy City RWA writers retreat. I've been excited about this even though it's my husband's birthday this weekend. He's urged me to go and so I will. But the snow is melting! I want to put out some spring decorations! I want to celebrate my husband's birthday in nice weather! It's usually so icky out in mid-March, this patch of nice weather is addicting. I had my windows down!

Then there is the other commitments that crept up. Our community choir was asked to sing at a person's funeral this Saturday. I've known this family for years. I'd love to sing with the choir, but I'll be at the writers retreat and unable to help out. I've been asked to bring a dessert for the dinner afterwards - a cake. That's just another thing that feels weird about this weekend. I'm making a cake for a funeral but not for my husband's birthday. My sweet daughter-in-law volunteered to make my husband's cake since I won't be around. Homemade cakes are a BIG deal in our family. And then, my two wonderful daughters are making the dinner because I won't have time. I'm soooooo grateful, yet feeling a tad guilty I'm not cooking my husband's birthday dinner. Again, home cooked food is a BIG thing in our family!

And finally, a good friend of ours is having a party tomorrow night! It's a celebration too since he has recovered from a bone cancer transplant. I don't want to miss the get-together. But I've committed my time to the writers retreat and won't be able to attend that either.

It comes down to commitment madness! If I decided to stay home, my family would be upset with me. I need this retreat. I need this time to devote to my writing. I know that! No matter how many times I tell myself this, I still feel selfish for choosing my priority over others. I'm going to blame my mother for this ... putting everyone else before my own needs. It's definitely the way I was raised.

Unless my upbringing gets the best of me, I will attend the writers retreat. I'll let you know how it went next time. It should be a fantastic time. Donald Maass is the presenter, and he will talk about writing 21st Century Fiction.

Til next time ~

DL Larsonwww.DLLARSON.com




3 comments:

  1. Trying to balance everything all the time is so very tricky. When there are so many things to do all at the same time, no matter what, you feel as though you're letting someone down. Sometimes that person is yourself.

    I hope you do listen to your family's urging and go to the conference. It's always nice to be good to yourself once-in-a-while. (And I can't wait to hear all about it!)

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  2. I also hope you listen to your family and attend the retreat. You know the old saying (I repeat it often in my house)--"if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." I'm sure they know it will be good for you to go and you're lucky to have such a caring group of people surrounding you! I hope you'll write a post about it when you return.

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  3. Thank you so much for all the encouragement! I will take your advice and that of my family! Thanks for stopping by!

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