Sometimes life gets in the way and derails my plans. Throughout a house remodeling project this summer, I found little time to read or write. Planned blog postings did not get written. It seemed that everything I wanted to do or intended to do got postponed to the next day, or the next week, or the next month, or even to next year. The work is complete; however, it will take several weeks to unpack, locate some items, and get everything situated. It is exhausting!

It occurred to me early in the remodeling process that I should blog about living in the chaos and uncertainty of construction, but by the end of each day I was too tired to put words together into coherent sentences. I am not a “morning person,” so blogging first thing in the morning was never an option. Subcontractors arrived as early as 7:00 a.m. and worked as late as 8:00 p.m. No two days were alike.

I met the July 20 deadline for the Ashe County, NC, “On the Same Page” creative nonfiction competition. I came in just under the wire on July 19. My entry was a 995-word piece about the experiences of a World War II veteran. The theme of the contest was “telling stories.” The winner will be announced on August 31. I intended to also enter the fiction contest. By the time I settled on an idea, though, there was not enough time to do the story justice. I’ll keep the idea for another time and venue.

No time spent writing or honing one’s writing skills is wasted.