catching up

I sat down to write earlier today and immediately launched into a predictable refrain = Oh, it’s been so long since I’ve written. I swore this wouldn’t happen again. I should always make time to write. And after several paragraphs of self-flagellation, I began reciting my travel itinerary over the past few months = First I went here, then I went there and did this, and it was all so awesome. Blah blah blah. 

But then I got a link to a great website from a fantastic lady I met today (because this is how I procrastinate mid-task, click open my email. You know you do it, too, don't deny!) Anyway, it was a woman’s blog about her 365-day quest to give away money to worthy causes. I was intrigued, delighted and, well... a bit envious. Her writing was crisp and clever and I immediately heard her Voice through the words on my screen. She was sincere, and also had money to throw around.

Then I clicked back over to my half-page of Word document ramble and wondered who on earth I was and, more so, who on earth would want to read my recitations of niceties about the past few months. True, some of it has been OMG awesome while other times have been OMG I'm going to pull my hair out. Then I realized that, of course, no one (but myself) actually expects a perfectly crafted Brief Yet Insightful Recent Life Synopsis in five hundred words or less. So, I let myself off the hook and went looking for my actual Voice... but that's another entry.

Anyway, for those who do indeed need a quicky update, this “working for myself thing” got rolling almost immediately following the thought “let me take some time off and write.” Of course. But they were opportunities to collaborate on interesting projects with people I really liked, and since those are my two key criteria for accepting jobs, I just couldn’t say no. I went with the flow.

May = Nigeria.
June = Papua New Guinea.
July = Kenya.

Each was a very different project, two in totally new countries for me, and all tapped into different parts of my creativity and experience. In a nutshell, I loved it, even though it almost killed me. Now I’m back in Atlanta, breathing deeply after three marathon months of traveling, doing and mostly failed attempts at proper time management.

But I do have three very pleased clients and a smiling bank account. I also have a gradually growing website of my own that needs much much more content, but is indeed alive. My garden is also alive, and it and the yard remain my perpetual preoccupations, regardless of the 90+ degree heat.

I can’t begin to capture in a single post all that I’ve learned and experienced in just a few short months gallivanting down this new path. But I will share that everyone I have seen since this latest epic began says, without exception, one of three things = either that I look more relaxed, thinner or younger. Cheers to leaps of faith!

So, if I can garner some support for back-posting a few stories, I would love to share more about Nigeria and Kenya in particular… All in favor?