It is Sunday evening.
I'm sitting on my balcony, enjoying the cool 69 degree weather, and listening to vintage autumn music while I research all sorts of historical tidbits for my new novel.
A hummingbird just buzzed by, hovering briefly over my bird feeders (I'm sorry, hummingbird! I don't have a feeder for you! I need to remedy that), bringing with it pure joy for me.
In this moment, I am utterly content.
I'm not thinking about tomorrow and the day job.
I'm not thinking about my health (which has been difficult the last month).
I'm not thinking about the mess this country finds itself in (or more accurately, voted itself into).
Instead, I'm just enjoying this life.
With the weather cooled off and the 'Ber months officially here, this is my time to shine. I feel fully and completely me during this season. I've already decorated for autumn, and have candles glowing around my cozy apartment with gold and orange and red leaves draped over bookcases and along tables. I am hoping that my health will cooperate and I'll be able to venture down to Colonial Williamsburg sometime soon. I'd planned to do that today, but my health derailed me, as it so often does.
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| The cozy "den" I created in my apartment. |
I found this saying on Pinterest and boy, does it ever describe me. Autumn really is the best month for me because of everything this quote says:
The research for my novel continues to go well, and today I made some awesome discoveries that I can incorporate into my story. I love it when that happens! I'm so excited about this novel...and I'm taking my sweet time with it. Last night, as I lay in bed, trying to fall asleep, the opening lines came to me, and I had to turn on the light and write it all down in my notebook because typing it on my Notes app on my phone was taking far too long.
This is what I've wanted for so long, to be so fully immersed in my novel's world that my brain is constantly at work making connections, generating new ideas, and expanding my inner world. I'm trying to delve more deeply into the writing craft, as well, and turning to Emma Darwin's amazing blog, The Itch of Writing. I wish I understood the craft of writing as well as she does, but in all fairness, she does have a master's degree in creative writing!
I wish all days could be like this, but ah, life, it is not made to be that way. We have struggles and hardships, times when we cry and rage and despair. But we also have times like this, moments of utter and complete contentment.
Those are the moments I live for.
