Little Miss Muse and I (over)packed our bags, boarded a 7:10 direct flight to Vegas Saturday, and now she's finally overcome enough of the jet-lag lazies to feel like dropping a few lines of snark that she can take credit for.
For those of you who know what’s been going on behind the scenes at Paul Central (If you’re behind, check out I’m On It) — and most of it ain’t been pretty.
Pretty ugly medical issues.
Pretty ugly stress levels.
Pretty ugly day-job deadlines.
Even the cats were giving me the stink-eye (though this could be because the suitcase was out and they weren’t allowed to pack themselves into it).
I’m putting a lot of pressure on this trip to perform certain tasks, not in the least of which is rest and relaxation — two concepts totally foreign to me as of late. Long overdue.
So, for the next couple of weeks, I’m not “ON” any of my normal stuff.
Because things were getting pretty ugly. And it was time for a breather.
My view from the plane before takeoff was overcast. Nothing special. Some would even say an ugly, dull sky.
But that all changed with our increase in altitude.
Oceans and oceans of gorgeous clouds. It was like a bird’s-eye view of an entirely different world. I’d gaze out the window for several minutes at a time, then look away to chat with my seatmate (a very kind preschool teacher from a Vegas suburb) for a bit. When I’d return to my view, the “scenery” changed. Different formations. Whisps, and puffs, and chubby glacier-like beings floating in a sea of misty haze. This lasted until we crossed the Rockies, then the magic was behind us…
(Sorry for the grainy photo, folks, but the pilot wouldn't pull the plane over for me to get a better shot of those clouds.)
It's always like that. The clouds. They may be dull, even ominous, on the bottom, but they’re pretty on the top side. I’ve flown above the clouds before, but this was hands-down the winner.
It’s the whole “silver lining” thing. Another thing that’s been short in supply, right along with rest and relaxation.
But time away gives perspective. A chance to stretch the imagination and enjoy new experiences and build new relationships…
To see the good in the last six months. Not just the ugly.
So far my travel buddy and I have navigated more time zones than should exist (her far more than me, I don’t even know how she’s upright, quite frankly), mastered the art of calling an Uber, and braved the neighborhood Walmart. (Yes, if you’re wondering, a Walmart is a Walmart is a Walmart).
On the horizon is a lot of fun, a lot of new memories to be made, and a writing class—
“At the Shark Pool?”
Little Miss Muse is getting antsy. She’s got a brand-new swimsuit. Ready to wow the lifeguards at the Golden Nugget with her impressive backstroke (doubly impressive because she has wings).
I don’t let her come to the conference room with me at these things because she just causes too much chaos, and all the other writers’ muses are so well behaved. I’m afraid she’ll rub off on them… So I let her swim. The Golden Nugget’s sharks in their impressive swimming pool require an aquatic veterinarian after her time there. It gets ugly.
So she has a blast, and I get some learning done.
The skills taught in the writing workshop next week will be amazing. My first attempts at them could very well be… ugly. But with practice, they can make my writing sing. And the whole thing has the possibility of helping me reset some pretty serious writing goals.
I’m not naïve enough to believe that all those issues I flew away from will be resolved when I land back in Indy. As a matter of fact, some of them will be roaring quite loudly.
But I’ve updated my Facebook background to remind me it’ll be okay.
Because it’s always pretty on the top side.
