I'm writing this post during my Spring Vacation. Yesterday, I was supposed to fly to Poland, a country I've never visited but know I will (I'm saying "will" to stay hopeful) find fascinating. I was really looking forward to seeing Krakow, which I've heard is stunning, and the camps, which I know would move me. With the Covid-19 outbreak, our school cancelled the trip. I'm hopeful, as I said above, that I'll still get to go someday, but I am super bummed for my daughter, who was going to get to go on the trip with us, but can't go on our rescheduled version of the trip because she's graduating.
So, I came up with a fun Plan B. I would take the dog up to our peaceful cabin in Maine while my husband took kids to the Marine Biological Research lab in Wood's Hole, Massachusetts and our younger daughter flew down to visit our older daughter in New Orleans. I could take a picture of myself in Poland, Maine instead of Poland, the country. I could have a private "writer's retreat" where I'd eat what I wanted, sleep when I wanted, exercise when I wanted, and complete (in the one week) at least three or four novels. Ha!
What with one thing and another, the younger daughter can't visit the older daughter, so no Writer's Retreat. Here I am on campus writing my blog post. I'm spending the week buying cleaning supplies and wondering if I need to stock up on bottled water. Hence, Poland (Plan A) --> Poland, Maine (Plan B) --> Poland Springs Water (Plan C). So far, you're probably thinking, "Make lemonade? She's just whining about her life!" Here's the lemonade -- I have bonus days on a beautiful campus.
Last night, I had time to make a delicious Instant Pot risotto. Then, some dear friends were having dinner nearby, so I got to visit with them for a while. Bonus! They told me about how great the new Emma movie is, so I went to see that. Today, I'll get to talk on the phone with another dear friend with whom I haven't had time to catch up in too long.
Here's a list of things I'm looking forward to getting done during this bonus free time:
- deep clean my house
- get my tax info to my tax guy (He's really great!)
- edit the novel that my 500 words/day plan allowed me to draft this year
- take lots of walks
- read some good-for-me and some just-for-fun novels
- get ahead in the work for my online class
- brush out the dog, who's starting to shed
- find recipes that make me excited to cook and eat well
- take naps
- get ahead on my blog posts
This list is so long, I better get (as one friend says) crackalacking! When you have bonus days, what do you like to get done?
I was just reading back over this post that I scheduled a couple weeks ago. Wow, the world is changing fast. I’m struck with overwhelming gratitude that my younger daughter couldn’t go visit her sister in New Orleans, where there are more cases of Covid-19 than the health care system can handle. I’m also grateful that we were lucky and privileged enough to get my older daughter out two weeks ago, and that in those two weeks spent in our house, she hasn’t shown any symptoms of illness. If anybody’s reading this comment or the above post, I’m sending you good wishes and hopes for your safety!