Elizabeth A. Wright has authored stories and articles for both children and adults. She has been published in Focus on the Family Clubhouse and Clubhouse Jr., Hopscotch, the ICL and Long Ridge Writers Group websites, and many others. She lives and works in Mendoza, Argentina. Her favorite escape spot is a short 90 minute drive from her home, in the majestic Andes Mountains. 

 

WHEN YOU ARE ABOUT TO EXPLODE... ESCAPE!

 

By E. A. Wright

 

 

            Your To Do List has shifted from a gentle guide to something that reminds you of an Egyptian taskmaster wielding a whip over an Israelite worker.

            Your writing career began with visions of long hours at the computer, the sun warming your office and your heart, pages sliding out of the printer as your thoughts raced from your brain to your keyboard. After a few months… or was it just days?…the vision got mixed up with: bake cookies for Scout troop, practice special music for church, eradicate the virus from the computer, proofread hubby’s doctoral dissertation, buy Jenny’s birthday gift, … and you know what the list looks like now! J

            The deadline for your article on recreation seems to be racing towards you. It doesn't matter whether you set the date or the publisher did. You are a writer who keeps deadlines no matter what (and no family member did you the favor of having an accident so you could justify postponing that date!)

            Your daughter is going to the Spring Banquet and insists that you HAVE TO make the dress because she can't find one she likes in the stores.

            Your son has to study for a test in his weakest subject and you find yourself reviewing, nagging, testing, nagging... just about screaming because it was never YOUR favorite subject either, so why should you have to study for a test you'll never take?

 

Normal Reactions

            If you're like me, you grew up faithfully reciting "work first, play later," so you check your To Do List, determine to try harder, concentrate and keep plugging away at all of your important projects. You do what you should, but you notice that the article doesn't come together as you originally envisioned it. Your To Do List seems to grow instead of shrinking, and your patience wears thin.

 

9-1-1 To The Rescue!

            Actually, it was my 17-year-old daughter who rescued me. "How about if we go to the mountains for a day?" she casually asked after watching me erupt at another interruption.

            I just about lost my sanity and my insanity all in the space of a second. How dare she suggest taking a day off? Couldn't she see how much work I had to do?   But, because it would be her last trip to the mountains before she left for college, I gave in.  As a confirmed workaholic, I stuffed my backpack with a camera, book, stories to edit, and the dreaded article on recreation.

 

Soothing the Savage Beast

            Not being a psychology major, I can't explain the phenomena. I don't understand it, but I watched it happen! Take a stressed out wife-mom-writer and put her out in the fresh air far away from the routines and interruptions of daily life, and her brain wakes up enough to notice the sights, smells, feelings, and sounds of nature. Patience grows to a comfortable depth and the energy level rises in spite of a total lack of body movement. All I was doing was surveying the majesty of the snow-covered Andes and watching the kids splash in the freezing cold mountain stream while my husband made asado (Argentine barbecue) for lunch!

 

No Secret Formula

            It doesn't matter whether you escape to the mountains, beach, park, sky, lake or your own flower garden. Just get out of your house, lock the door and leave your To Do List inside! If you can’t resist the “just in case I feel like it” feeling (like me!), take along a book, paper, and pen. But don’t force yourself to work on anything. Let nature work its magic and slow you down.

            You’ll be able to tell when the speedometer in your brain has slowed down enough to let creativity catch up. Ideas will flit through your brain and some of them will be perfect for jotting down on paper. As you enjoy the vibrant colors, the smells (just make sure you’re not parked next to the garbage bins!), people (No, don’t interview them yet!), and the fresh air, something will happen inside of your writer’s brain. Without spending any time or money at the pharmacy or the psychologist, you’ll see your life come back into perspective.

            Away from the pressures of getting everything done NOW, your long list of responsibilities will feel less threatening. Your writer’s vision and goals will once again seem attainable. You’ll feel the freedom to reset your priorities and figure out how to get that dress sewn while the sun continues to warm your heart and send story lines floating through your thoughts.  

 

Does It Work?

            Positively! I not only finished the dreaded article (recreation is not a bad subject to write about - it's just easier if you practice it once in a while!), but I also got the rough draft written for this one.

            My To Do List is still waiting inside my locked house. But, I've got my pen ready to check the article off the list as soon as I walk through the door. And to feel even better, I'll write this one down and check it off immediately!

 

            -- Good advice!  The To Do List, like the Internal Editor need some ‘time out’ from your life!  Lock that door and leave them behind once in awhile. 

                        -- Mary Rosenblum, LR Web Editor