Garden and Beach, or What I Did Today Instead of Writing

Today I decided to eat my breakfast on the back deck, listening to the birds in the backyard trees and watching the world go by. And that decision made this a non-productive, but wonderful day. I decided I couldn’t bear to go inside and spent a couple of hours in the garden, planting out a few tomato seedlings and putting others into bigger pots, repotting a viola, planting more lettuce seeds, and weeding.

By the time I was done, I had just enough time to shower and get to my dental appointment. Not a lot of fun, of course, but it went well. Look Mom, no cavities!

Being in the dentist’s chair gave me time to think. I’ve been a bit stressed out of late, mostly due to worrying about my mom (she’s doing better, but the Mother’s Day trip back to the Land of Apples just proved “better” is relative. Mom is eighty. I worry. I can’t help it.) On Tuesday, Jeff had suggested a trip to the beach might do me good, but I had too much to do, I thought–and besides, Tuesday was cold. Today, on the other hand, was beautiful. While I certainly had a lot to do, I figure that one of the benefits of being self-employed is being able to play hookey and make it up later.

So I did.

Horseneck Beach in Westport, MA, is not my favorite beach. It’s rocky. It attracts a lot of college students from nearby UMass Dartmouth, and a lot of teenagers from nearby Fall River and New Bedford, so on a classic beach day, it can be packed and loud. Luckily, today was warm, but windy, so it wasn’t over-crowded.

And it was gorgeous. Just what my soul needed. I feel a bit physically tired, but mentally and spiritually refreshed.

Which is good, because I came home to a print proof for the re-release of Cat Scratch Fever as well as a book to revise, one to finish–and at two stories, possibly three, I’d like to get out for June 1.