Forgive Me While I Ramble
Is Reading About My Writing Routine Boring?
I hope my readers enjoy this recycled article I wrote last summer. It’s never been published on Medium before.
Even though winter is quickly approaching, I decided to share this article because it describes my life as a writer so well. I’ve been writing since I was a kid. It’s who I am. Fortunately, I now have a lot of free time in my life to devote to the art of writing. Whether I monetize my writing or do it for therapeutic reasons, I’m driven by an unseen force to creatively express myself. I have no choice. So, I write.
Thank you for reading …
This morning, I got up a little earlier than usual.
I’m a night owl. Early to bed and early to rise has never been my cup of tea unless I rise early on my own, without an alarm clock.
So, today I was up and puttering in my gardens by 7:30 AM.
It’s supposed to get up into the 90s today. Summer has arrived it would seem. I’ve planted a lot of seeds here and there amongst the perennials. They’re starting to poke through. Sunflowers, zinnias, Mexican torch flowers, sweet basil, rainbow swiss chard. to name a few of my favorites.
Uh, oh, that pesky little chipmunk has been digging up my seeds and eating them. Damn!
I can’t stay mad for long, however. After all, even a chipmunk must eat. So, I drop a few more seeds into the ground and this time I cover them with netting. Ha ha! Those little rascals hate to get their feet caught in bridal netting.
Yeah, I bought a whole roll of that white gauzy stuff that women seem to like to wear when they tie the knot.
I didn’t have a wedding dress, so I can’t relate. Somehow, I’ve stayed married for 52 years without a wedding gown but can’t garden for a day without it. Go figure.
I’ve got my coffee in hand.
You know, the best cup of the day. The first cup of the morning coffee is always highly anticipated. It’s time to write. A morning ritual that usually consumes a few hours of my time. I call it my daily meditation. I even have a favorite chair where I tend to do my work.
Oh, by the way, I have a brand-new computer. It’s a MacBook Air, don’t you know.
My old one (2014) was well used. It had been everywhere with me. I mean all over the world. This new one could very well be my last computer, however. Well, let’s face it, if it lasts as long as my old one, I’ll be almost 80 years old. Who knows what computers will be like by then. Who knows what I’ll be like by then.
Every now and again, when I make a major purchase, I find myself thinking that way.
Last roof, next to last used car, last computer. It may seem macabre to another person but to me, it’s kind of a relief. Stuff is a burden to a minimalist. We carry it around begrudgingly.
This is my life. I’m a retired introvert, nonconforming, old hippie lady with a passion for gardening, coffee, travel adventures, the arts, and writing.
Even though I had a rewarding career, I retired about 17 years earlier than most of my colleagues. Yeah, I really was only 54 years old when I gave up my chalk and chalkboard for good. I look back on my life as a fifth-grade public school teacher with great fondness, however. The last six years, I was a principal of a large elementary school in rural Maine. Two hard earned degrees, 28 years of working with kids, and a job that I always looked forward to resuming at the end of every summer.
Yet, I wanted to try this, you know, doing what I want when I want.
So, I retired earlier than all my colleagues. I haven’t regretted it. My secret was to be debt free first and then to live the rest of my life with the lowest overhead possible.
So, today, I do what I want when I want and enjoy a rather solitary life which suits me to a tee.
Writing and traveling are my two biggest passions, but in between travel adventures, I rarely leave the house and gardens. There’s something to be said for peace of mind and I achieve that by not spending too much time with humans.
Oh, and writing. I write like I mean it.
If a day goes by without writing, then something big came between me and my laptop. When people ask what’s my secret to being a prolific writer, I always answer with, “I write.” It’s that simple and that hard. You must sit down and do it not talk about doing it. I’m sure it’s true as well about playing the cello or learning a second language. You gotta do it — a lot, every day. Come rain or shine, even when you don’t feel like it. Even when there’s no time and no matter where you’re at — you gotta do it. It’s that easy and that hard.
If only that dang chipmunk would leave me the hell alone. Eh?
Teresa is an author, world traveler, and professional myth buster. You can find her books on Amazon.
