‘When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions’ – William Shakespeare
It's been a long time since I posted, and I realize that's not entirely unusual for me, but this year has been cruel and brutal. This past April, I lost my beloved father to cancer and my father-in-law within two weeks of each other. Then, in June, my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. I started the year out in the hospital, passing a pea-sized kidney stone, and if you've never been through this before, don't underestimate the level of excruciating pain that a stone that size can cause passing through your urinary tract. Moreover, my wife Dawn had her second heart surgery in another attempt to mitigate her Atrial fibrillation and foot surgery. My stepdad managed to shoot himself in the hand and had a grandfather pass away this past month. There are other things in the loom that I can’t even discuss yet. So, it's been challenging to stay focused on anything but keep the most important things in my life held together…family and health. There have been many prayers and leaning on each other during these challenging times, so my creative writing has essentially ground to a halt. The creative machine inside needs to be tuned and well-oiled to produce good literary works, and currently, it's seized with gunk, grime, and metal petulance.
Forward and onward...
One of my goals for 2025 is to pick up the metaphorical pen and finish this horror book. At this point, I'll need to re-read the two-thirds that I've completed so far and see if it's still good. Years like this past year change a person's perspective on things, and I may not be the same person who started writing this thing last year. Before 2024, I felt I had lost my way, clouded in the distractions of this world and, to an extent, self-absorbed. I plan to emerge out of this stronger and better focused. Stronger in my faith, stronger in my bond to family, and with a renewed desire to turn away from the poisons of this world, which crumple the mind and wither the soul.
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