As March 2011 wound down, I was 33K into my WIP and loving it. I'd managed the balancing act of keeping my family life in check, whilst pounding out 30,000 words in under 5 weeks. All was going along swimmingly. I was in a very Zen place.
Cue the ominous music.
Speed bump #1. THE MOVE: My husband and I decide to move. No, not to another county (it was a possibility), but rather, 20 miles away to another part of Houston, hoping to cut my husband's commute time by 1/2.
Speed bump #2. THE MOVE PREP: As it often does, #1 brings #2 along for the ride. Preparing to list a house is hard work. That long honey-do list that waits so patiently suddenly can't wait another second.
Speed bump #3. THE BREAK: I discover that I'm far more clumsy then I'd ever imagined. Through a series of laughable and slightly mundane actions, I break my leg while I am in the midst of hanging curtains for the upcoming listing.
Speed bump # 4. THE SEARCH: Because I'm kinda crazy, I decide to list my house anyway, broken leg and all, and consequently spend the whole of April searching out a new house while on crutches. (Just for reference sake, I don't recommend this option. With my absurd lack of coordination, stairs on crutches is just asking for a full-body cast––this leaves me only one way up and down: the bum-scoot. Again, not recommended, people.)
Speed bump #5. THE SHOWINGS: Maintaining a clean house in the best of times is difficult. Keeping the house immaculate for showings with three active boys and a very heavy cast on my right leg (which by the way, prohibits driving) is near impossible. I get overwhelmed just thinking about it, so let's just say it's been a tad busy 'round these parts.
So, now May has dawned. I've successfully found a new home. I've navigated the listing, the showings and in 13 long days from now, I will get this blasted thing off my leg. I have made progress, but just not on my WIP. At all. Not one word since March 31st.
It bothers me, like that horrible itch under my cast that I can not reach. I hear my characters' toe-tapping impatience in my head. I just keep telling myself (and them) that life has forced me into a series of speed bumps, so steady as she goes, slow but sure, and all of that, but man, am I anxious for the open road again.
