Distracted?! by Tracy Krauss

Distracted? Me?

Ha!

This month's prompt seems especially appropriate right now. Writing has had to take a back burner due to the many other things going on in my life. Let me fill you in...

My husband has been SLOWLY renovating a house we bought about nine years ago. It is directly across the street from where we live now. At the time, the housing market was brisk, but we got a really good deal on the house, so we bought it. It was going to be our "ticket" to retirement...  A sudden crash in the market ended that plan, so we've been picking away at the substantial renovations ever since. This year, the housing market suddenly picked up again. Ever the optimist, my husband stuck a "For Sale" sign in the window of the house we currently live in, even though the "new" house wasn't ready yet. Guess what? Our house sold within three days! YIKES! That was at the end of June and we have to be out of our current house by the end of August. All well and good, except the other house still isn't habitable, despite a flurry of contractors and many late nights. (No bathroom installed yet, I'm afraid. Otherwise, I'd be up for camping in the house...) We may be living in a hotel for a while, but we are hoping there will at least be one room painted where we can store our belongings.

Enough about that! Two of my daughters were having babies this year, upping our grandchildren to nine. EXCEPT... my one daughter, who was planning to have her baby at home all along, went into labor and had TWO babies. SURPRISE!! Yes, she had twins and SHE DIDN'T KNOW SHE WAS HAVING TWINS.  She chose not to have an ultrasound, but four healthcare professionals did not catch the second heartbeat or any other signs. She literally did not know she was having a second baby until she was being born! She now has FIVE children under five. (And we now have TEN grandchildren!) Needless to say, I hurried on over to her farm, about an hour away, and spent several days there doing what I could. This happened at the end of July. 

Add to the mix quite a lot of company. A friend came and stayed for a few days right before the babies were born and then four of my siblings came for a week in early August. I love company, so I was glad to have them and their visits were planned before my husband put that "For Sale" sign in the window...

Did I mention that I am going to a four-day teacher's convention at the end of August and won't be home when we are actually supposed to be moving? And on it goes. 

I'm not sure if these count as "distractions". In fact, the writing prompt for this month mentioned "focusing on our writing and the important things in life... "  I'd say all of the above fit into the "important" category (especially those sweet twins!) so I wouldn't call them distractions. 

However, all of the above has definitely put a stop to my grandiose writing plans for the summer which included finishing two audiobooks I've been working on. The truth is, I don't usually get too distracted when it comes to my writing. (Okay, not true. I watch too much HGTV.) As Carol Harrison mentioned in her post, I find making lists and creating deadlines for myself works well to keep me on track. However, sometimes LIFE happens and those lists and deadlines have to go out the window. 

Hopefully, I'll see many of you at Fall Conference, where I plan to put my feet up and relax!

Tracy Krauss writes, renovates, teaches, and loves on her grandchildren in Tumbler Ridge, BC. Visit her website for more: https://tracykrauss.com