I have long dreamed of going to a writing retreat.  When I imagine it, it’s in a rustic lodge in the mountains.  It’s very quiet and peaceful with few distractions.  The writers present are published, intelligent, creative, talented, and willing to share their experiences.  We’d spend some of our time in small groups and then we’d all gather in the living area in front of a roaring fire while drinking hot chocolate and tea and share our writing and critique each other’s creations.  We’d also have time alone to write and to spend time in nature.  We’d all leave energized, renewed, and ready to write a bestseller.  But the odds of me coming up with the funds and the time to attend such a retreat are pretty slim.  So I’ve decided that I am going to start treating every weekend as a personal writing retreat.  I have so many inspiring books on writing that I can use to set up my own curriculum and then use what I learn while writing.  We all have in our minds this vision of how things are supposed to be, how we want them to be but we need to realize that these visions are not the only way of doing or experiencing what we want to do.  In a perfect world, we’d have unlimited funds and time to do whatever we want to do but it isn’t a perfect world.  We have responsibilities, jobs, family, bills, mortgages, etc…, and they take precedence in our lives.  That’s why we have to be willing to let our visions morph into a reality that works for us.  We are writers and artists, we are creative, we have the ability to make this happen.  We create worlds so we definitely have the ability to set up our own personal retreat or to gather with a few other writers and have a small group retreat.  We could meet on Saturday morning and each would share their experiences, tips, insights, things we’ve learned along the way, and our writing.  We’d meet until 7:00pm then go home and write.  On Sunday, we’d meet for brunch, discuss writing and what we had learned on Saturday and then we’d head to the Arboretum and wander through the beauty then we’d sit and write surrounded by the beauty of flowers and topiaries.  We would eat dinner and share our writing, do some critiquing, offer advice, and just enjoy each other’s companies.  We could meet like this every couple of months as well as having brunch or dinner occasionally to help us stay inspired and connected.  Or, as a friend in SWW is doing, we could have an online retreat.  We could Skype or Zoom and/or set up a private Facebook group.  That’s very similar to ROW…SARK’s Rhapsody of Writing.  We’d meet one Saturday per month for 5 hours on Zoom and we had a Facebook group.  It was an awesome experience.  So inspiring.  So, I am going to design my own personal retreat that works within my time and budget constraints.  I have my Magical Writing Haven, my books, a wonderful view, and I am feeling inspired.  It’s somewhat freeing knowing that I can do this because first, I need it, second, just planning it is also a form of creativity and third, I get to delve deeper into what I feel that I need to learn and work on when it comes to my writing.  I’m not dependent upon anyone else for the content so it can be whatever I want and need.  We are all capable of doing this but, if you’re like me, you get caught up in that singular vision that you have in your mind of the “perfect” retreat or any of the other “perfect” things that you might have imagined.  Then you set our sights on that one image and totally miss all the other options that are available.  We have to widen our vision to take in all those amazing options and then create our very own personalized vision that we then make real.  We are capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for because our creativity doesn’t end in the arts…writing, painting, composing, etc…it seeps into every single thing that we think and do.  We just have to be aware of it and use it to the fullest extent possible.  Spread it around…use it at home and at work.  Come up with creative solutions to problems.  Look at everything with a creative’s eye.  And, last but definitely not least, use it in our creative endeavors…just let it run wild and see where it takes us.  It will be an amazing journey and we don’t even have to leave home.         

It’s been a little 2 weeks since I posted but it seems like a lifetime.  After I recovered from the RA flare, I felt as though I needed a small break from my digital life.  I am not addicted to being online but I did spend time on the internet…Facebook because that’s my virtual social life; playing Trivia Crack because it’s fun, it exercises my brain, and I’m really good at it as well as the fact that I’m super competitive, and watching series and movies on Prime and Netflix.  I won’t give up Facebook because all of my succulent wild friends are there and they are true friends, not virtual ones.  As I’ve said before, they art my tribe.  I’ve cut back my time on Trivia Crack and I’m actually beginning to enjoy the silence that comes from not having a movie playing in the background.  I’ve never done well in complete silence but I’m finding myself actually enjoying it when I’m writing.  I listen to music but that usually isn’t conducive to writing because I’m hoping from 1 artist to another and song to song so I can’t concentrate on the writing because I’m too busy DJ’ing the music.  I’m working on it though.  I’m trying to meditate but my brain never shuts up.  I have downloaded a bunch of guided meditations that Audible has at no cost so hopefully, that will help.  I’m also keeping a gratitude journal.  And now that I really am feeling pretty great, I’m ready to work on the weight loss thing again.  It’s not really a choice…it’s something that I have to do so that I don’t just drop dead in my tracks one day.  I used to walk up here at work on my lunch hour but the company has banned it for safety reasons, however, I am the Safety Coordinator and I have to do inspections so I could just do a few more inspections.  But it would have to be early in the day because we just had our yard blacktopped and I’d probably have a heat stroke out there if I do it any later in the day.  I’m working on my goals…healthwise, career-wise, for life in general, and my writing.  I’m feeling ambitious right now and I think that I can actually accomplish the things for which I’m setting goals.  I’m going to go slow at first though so I don’t become overwhelmed and end up setting myself up for failure.  I think that we have a tendency to do that.  When we are ready for change, we want to change EVERYTHING and then we eventually quit because we hit a brick wall after trying to accomplish everything rather than concentrating on one or two things.  It’s okay to write down all of your goals and get an idea of where you want to end up but it’s another thing when you go after all of them at once.  I’m going to start slow…small goals and changes.  Drinking more water, eating smaller portions, cutting down on my junk food consumption.  My husband is an excellent cook and loves to cook for me so I have that in my corner.  And our garden is coming along really well…tons of tiny tomatoes on the vines already.  I could practically live on tomatoes.  Tonight I’m having a tomato (store-bought)/cucumber/onion salad with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic and a tiny bit of Splenda because I like it a little sweeter than Rick does.  It’s wonderful.  I left the entree up to him because he knows my likes and dislikes (which unfortunately outnumber my likes by a lot).  Well, I need to get the payroll checks put on everyone’s desks then get out of here.  I have my yummy salad waiting for me at home.                 

After you’ve been away from just about anything, it can be really difficult to get started again. I became so used to being tired and in pain that I’m having a hard time believing that it’s not going to circle back again and surprise me. But I’ve 2 good days in a row so I think that I’m safe for now. And, I think that the chronic infection that I’d had for about 6 months, because I didn’t want to go to the oral surgeon, had been dragging me down that entire time. Phobias can make you behave in ways that are definitely not in your own best interest. So, I guess that it was a really good thing that I developed the acute infection because it forced me to go to the dentist. I am hoping that since I’m feeling so much better, I can and will get back into my writing groove again as well as diving back into my creativity groups. I miss my tribe! And I’ve got a virtual birthday party to plan. I’m excited about that. I’m excited about a lot of things right now…getting things done at work and home, writing, being creative in other ways, writing up more affirmation and manifestation flash cards, etc… I’ve also been spending more time without Netflix, Prime, or Hulu droning away in the background. Silence has never been my friend but I’m working on being more mindful and not needing the constant stimulation. I’m trying to get up a bit earlier, which I honestly can’t believe I’m saying. My relationship with sleep has always a bit problematic because of all of my sleep disorders and the meds that I have to take because of them. I guess that I just want to take full advantage of feeling well again. Well, it’s getting a little late so I think I’ll start getting things ready for tomorrow and myself ready for bed. I should have an easier day at work tomorrow so I’ll probably be able to get back to my routine of writing my posts at lunch. I’m on a roll!

I actually felt good today. Not too many aches and I wasn’t exhausted all day long. And, I got quite a bit done. I am on the down swing though. But I still feel better right now than I have over the last week and a half. I should be able to sleep well tonight…also a plus. I am feeling downright optimistic right now. I think that I will cut this short though because I am feeling pretty tired right now. I usually try to write my blog at lunch but I was getting so much done today that I didn’t want to lose my momentum. But now that I’m feeling better, I hope to get back on my regular posting schedule. I’ve lost a lot of time because of the tooth extraction and RA flare. I’m ready to get past it but right now I’m going to start winding down so I’ll just say goodnight.

This has been a very trying time but, through research, I have learned a lot.  A PSA for anyone suffering from immune system disorders/diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, if you are having any kind of dental issues…an infection in the tooth or pulp and are facing a tooth extraction, make sure your disease is under excellent control, that you’re not in a flare, and touch base with the physician that is managing the disease or disorder before having it done.  And, after the procedure, if you feel a flare coming on, immediately get in contact with your doctor to see if there’s something that can be done to at least lessen the effects of it.  In my case, doctors will not prescribe prednisone because I am a Type 1 diabetic as well and those 2 things do not play well together.  I have a couple of other issues related to my RA (erythema nodosum and De Quervain’s tenosynovitis) that are currently causing intermittent pain and the only thing that could mitigate them is Prednisone but neither of my doctors’ will risk prescribing it to me.  So I just have to deal with it.  Do not take your immune system diseases for granted when you have any kind of infection because they will be impacted by it.  Most of the time, we tolerate the effects but sometimes we cannot.  I basically lost about 9 days and I now feel a bit disconnected from just about everything so I am pushing myself to get back into the groove and to reconnect with the people and groups that I have missed during this fun time.  I feel some trepidation because of the disconnect that I’m still experiencing.  It’s all on me because the people in SWW and ROW have always been so kind, welcoming, supportive, and loving.  It’s just a matter of jumping back into it all.  I always feel a bit awkward after an absence, whether it be my groups, work, or family.  Just writing this has been a very good therapy session.  Anyway, I just hope that this post might help someone avoid a flare like I had because of the tooth extraction.  We all have to look out for each other.  I’m glad to be back and am ready to start writing about writing once again.  See you tomorrow!