Saturday, April 11, 2020
It is the last beautiful day before the storm hits tomorrow. The forecast for the six days after today is two days in the low thirties, two days in the low forties, and two days in the low fifties. On the bright side, I only need to go out one of those days. Unfortunately, I need to go out one of those days. The one day in the month I actually need to leave my house and venture out into the world, the temperature will be less than 40 degrees when I am out. It could be worse, I could still be on chemotherapy drugs, and out a lot more.
I was a slacker when it came to writing journal entries for March. I am doing very well for April; I think there were only two days so far that I needed to write the last couple of paragraphs the next day. I write each day’s text in an individual Word document, and I copy the text into another Word document that contains the text from every day (that is how I know I have written more than 130,000 words since I have started). I am current with my April journal entries. I am still behind on my March journal entries.
Because I place my completed journal entries in the master document in order, my big file still thinks it is March. I am not a full month behind on my March journal entries, but I am close. Most of the nearly 20 days in March are finished; however, I do not place the completed days in the master file until any previous days are completed. I opened some individual files this morning intending to catch up with my writing so I would not fall a full month behind. I opened four individual files.
The entry for the oldest unfinished date is slightly more than halfway completed. I will write three or four more paragraphs, and it will be finished. The next two journal entry files are already completed. I simply need to read them again to look for errors and flow, and then I can copy them to the master file. (Wow! The words I wrote the first week the coronavirus became an issue in Colorado will likely need a stupidity disclaimer when I post them on my blog. I do not think I will change the words; I was thinking them.)
My problem today is the fourth file I opened. I did not write a note to myself on it. Not a paragraph, not a sentence, not a single word. I rely on the notes I leave myself to get me back in the mood I was in on an uncompleted day. I am hoping I will get an idea of what to write for that day by reading the completed days before, but one of those days is probably a rant about people blowing the coronavirus out of proportion, so it will not be helpful. (I am not certain that journal entry is a rant; but based on the opening sentence I read when I opened the file, it most likely is a rant.)
I feel like I came to build a house, and there are not any building materials. The notes I write to myself are the building materials I use to craft my thoughts and feelings. Even a single word can bring back very vivid memories for me. Halloween, eWomenNetwork, snow; I could write heart-felt pages about any one of those single words, and I probably have done so.
I am suddenly reminded of the For Want of a Nail proverb: For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the message was lost. For want of a message the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail. Here is my version, For Want of a Word: For want of a word the page was lost. For want of a page the book was lost. For want of a book the message was lost. For want of a message the inspiration was lost. For want of an inspiration the action was lost. For want of an action the happiness was lost. And all for the want of a single word.
My piece of advice to you is to write down your single words. What word speaks to you and can evoke pleasant emotions? Remember your words and fill yourself with happiness when you feel distressed.
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.
It is the last beautiful day before the storm hits tomorrow. The forecast for the six days after today is two days in the low thirties, two days in the low forties, and two days in the low fifties. On the bright side, I only need to go out one of those days. Unfortunately, I need to go out one of those days. The one day in the month I actually need to leave my house and venture out into the world, the temperature will be less than 40 degrees when I am out. It could be worse, I could still be on chemotherapy drugs, and out a lot more.
I was a slacker when it came to writing journal entries for March. I am doing very well for April; I think there were only two days so far that I needed to write the last couple of paragraphs the next day. I write each day’s text in an individual Word document, and I copy the text into another Word document that contains the text from every day (that is how I know I have written more than 130,000 words since I have started). I am current with my April journal entries. I am still behind on my March journal entries.
Because I place my completed journal entries in the master document in order, my big file still thinks it is March. I am not a full month behind on my March journal entries, but I am close. Most of the nearly 20 days in March are finished; however, I do not place the completed days in the master file until any previous days are completed. I opened some individual files this morning intending to catch up with my writing so I would not fall a full month behind. I opened four individual files.
The entry for the oldest unfinished date is slightly more than halfway completed. I will write three or four more paragraphs, and it will be finished. The next two journal entry files are already completed. I simply need to read them again to look for errors and flow, and then I can copy them to the master file. (Wow! The words I wrote the first week the coronavirus became an issue in Colorado will likely need a stupidity disclaimer when I post them on my blog. I do not think I will change the words; I was thinking them.)
My problem today is the fourth file I opened. I did not write a note to myself on it. Not a paragraph, not a sentence, not a single word. I rely on the notes I leave myself to get me back in the mood I was in on an uncompleted day. I am hoping I will get an idea of what to write for that day by reading the completed days before, but one of those days is probably a rant about people blowing the coronavirus out of proportion, so it will not be helpful. (I am not certain that journal entry is a rant; but based on the opening sentence I read when I opened the file, it most likely is a rant.)
I feel like I came to build a house, and there are not any building materials. The notes I write to myself are the building materials I use to craft my thoughts and feelings. Even a single word can bring back very vivid memories for me. Halloween, eWomenNetwork, snow; I could write heart-felt pages about any one of those single words, and I probably have done so.
I am suddenly reminded of the For Want of a Nail proverb: For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the message was lost. For want of a message the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail. Here is my version, For Want of a Word: For want of a word the page was lost. For want of a page the book was lost. For want of a book the message was lost. For want of a message the inspiration was lost. For want of an inspiration the action was lost. For want of an action the happiness was lost. And all for the want of a single word.
My piece of advice to you is to write down your single words. What word speaks to you and can evoke pleasant emotions? Remember your words and fill yourself with happiness when you feel distressed.
Until next time,
Susanne
Please check out my GoFundMe page.