Shut Down Mode

On my iPod: Under The Milky Way by The Church

Reading:

My computer does this weird thing with the colors showing up funny if I've had the thing on too long without shutting it down. I am NO tech genius so I have no idea what it is or how to stop it. I just know that once the colors start looking wonky it's time to shut the thing down. So I shut it down and then... voila! It comes back up fine.

Turns out my computer needs to shut down sometimes.

You know where this is going, don't you?

I had a hellacious past couple weeks getting my copyedits done and holding down the homefront while my husband traveled constantly. Plus I'm keeping a child now every day after school and let me just tell you that when people joke around about "oh what's one more?" they know not of what they speak. Because "just one more" is just enough to throw off my carefully balanced life. But we're working through it and I'm glad I'm doing it-- he's a nice kid and he needed a place to stay every afternoon while his mom works and I make a little bit of pocket money that pays for things like my Dunkin Donuts coffee habit and the occasional lunch with a friend. And I'm glad he doesn't have to be in the daycare center he was in where a kid punched him in the stomach. That hurt my heart.

But anyway, all of that stuff I just listed? It made my colors go wonky. Things went from watercolor to technicolor.

So this week as the edits got turned in and the surgery approached it was everything in me to dive right into my new novel that needs writing, to work on this ebook idea I've had, to write blog posts and return emails and... do more work. But instead I went into shut down mode. I did some shopping. I talked on the phone with friends. I met some folks for lunch. I cooked. I read good books. I rested. I watched some mindless shows I'd DVR'ed but not taken the time to watch.

And when things popped into my head that needed doing I jotted them down... on next week's list. And I reasoned that life wasn't going to end if I took some time to shut down. And slowly, the garish technicolor faded into a muted, soft watercolor. And I felt myself exhale.

Shut down mode.

Give it a try.

(PS. As I wrote this post I kept picturing this video.)