Now I Can Resume Housework

It's strange the memories your mind will remember - and how one situation can mentally call up another.

Because, you see, a publisher's promise in 2007 was the "reason" why I stopped doing most housework for the last few weeks.

Here's how my mind made that connection.

In September 2007, our family was still delivering thousands of newspapers each night in the middle of the night, every night.

And at the end of September that year, newspaper distribution was moved from the Chicago Sun-Times to the Chicago Tribune.

That's actually how I met Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara. But that's it's own special story.

Now, when one transfers a large distribution system to another large distribution, a few hiccups should be expected.

So our publisher at the time went on record - in the newspaper - that he would not shave until the distribution hiccups were resolved.

Each day the newspaper published a photo of his face with his beard getting longer.

Eventually the hiccups went away, a smoother system of delivering newspapers was established, and our publisher shaved off his beard.

Funny how that came to mind as I worked through edits of "House on Top of the Hill" (the third book in the BryonySeries Limbo trilogy) and ran out of time each week to tackle anything other than the most basic of housework/laundry/food necessities over these last few weeks.

For I was determined to finish the edits and publish the book at the end of 2024 since I'd missed my 2023 deadline, all understandable, as we've had a couple of heartbreaking years.

But by September of this year, I was so very close to getting it done.

And sometime this past month, I swore off any additional housework until I completed the task.

Mostly this resolution was to keep me from getting distracted by the need to, oh, say clean the bathroom mirrors (I'm pretty sure my face is among the water spots somewhere) until I finished the job.

Well, I am happy to report I finished editing "House on Top of the Hill" on Saturday night.

Rebekah started formatting the book around ten o'clock on Saturday (her choice, since she's had insomnia anyway) and worked far into the night.

The proof copy for "House on Top of the Hill" is expected to arrive on Wednesday (HURRAY), so this week I'm working my way down a very long list of neglected tasks.

As you can see, decluttering my desk isn't one of them (yet). And I still can't find my face in the bathroom mirror (not necessarily a bad thing).

But housework is a major goal for this week. In fact, it's the main priority in my life after work.

For next week, I'm taking my fourth and final at-home writing retreat of 2024 - at which time I'll be reading through the proof of "House on Top of the Hill" and working my way through the edits of the third book in Ed Calkins Steward of Tara's "Ruthless" series.

And then I have the second round of another client's manuscript, too.

Yet, I feel pretty good about my decision, too.

We can't do all things at all times.

But we can do some things some times.

The trick is deciding what's immediate, what can wait a little while, and what can be avoided forever.

I'm sure those choices are as individualized as the person making them, right?

Happy Monday!