Surprises Come in All Shapes and Sizes
Life seems like it’s going a million miles an hour these days. I don’t even know where to start this update, so let’s go right to the biggest news I’ll get all year: We’re expecting Baby #2!
Their due date is in January, we don’t know the gender yet, and everything has looked good at our appointments so far. The news was equal parts shocking, exciting, and thought-provoking. Kim and I had started to lay out some plans for our future, and none of them included adding to our family. At least, not until we thought about adoption 10 years from now.
So as you might expect, a lot of those plans will be changing. It’s hard to know what things will look like in 6 months when Baby Goomba arrives. But honestly? I am way too excited to be bothered by that change. We’ll take things a day at a time and life will continue to be great.
Halfway through 2023, I’ve settled into my new job and finally have a solid grip on the position. (I’m also starting to set some routines for myself throughout the week, which will be great for my mental — and physical — health.) Kim’s in line for either a senior promotion or a switch to a new kind of designer role in the next month. Graham’s become a chatterbox thanks to daycare. And now every day is filled with thoughts of Baby Goomba and whatever/whoever they will become.
Yeah, life is so, so good right now.
Author’s note: I’ll include some pictures at the end of this post!
Big goals, small successes
Life updates aside, the rest of my “life stuff” has slowed down. I started 2023 off with a lot of inspiration and big goals, and I’ve had to revisit a lot of them.
Three months ago, I felt excited about writing, with tons of worldbuilding and story ideas. But even though I spent a month making a major pivot with the project, when it came time to actually write, I just…couldn’t recreate that initial excitement. The ideas were there, but the passion wasn’t — not for the writing, at least. I don’t know why, or if that will change over time.
Maybe I should keep worldbuilding and wait for inspiration to strike. Maybe I should just start telling stories that occur to me, even if they’re single scenes or conversations. Maybe the act of writing will help me find, catch, and harness the magic. Or maybe the genie is out of the bottle and I missed my chance because I got so caught up in worldbuilding. Who really knows?
Looking to the sky
Oddly enough, I’ve been thinking about No Room in the Sky. A lot, actually. I wrote a fourth novel in the series, then edited/rewrote it a few years later, then left it incomplete for almost a decade now.
But for some reason, that is the story that is really calling to me these days.
Is it a case of procrastination, distracting myself from a big project with anything else? Maybe. I can’t really be certain. But on our recent vacation to Disney World, I reread Planes of Solace to try and get back into it, and let me tell you: I loved it. I’m legitimately shocked by how great that story is, and it’s hard to believe it came from me. The characters are interesting, with clever banter and super witty writing. The descriptions are vivid and clear, with a lot of imagination behind it all. And the plot is well-paced and -delivered, drawing you deeper and deeper.
I wrote the book. I know how it started, how it evolved, and where it came from. But it’s still hard to believe I created something so excellent, especially compared to the meandering and plodding projects I’ve worked on since.
Maybe that’s the answer? Maybe my real writing passion was always SciFi, despite my lifelong love of fantasy and longing to daydream about those worlds. Maybe the answer to this 5-year hiatus is just going back to the thing that worked before to revisit the novel I wrote but never “finished.”
Heck, maybe editing “anniversary” editions of the original trilogy would help me get ready. Or maybe it’s time to use all the narrative podcasts I’ve listened to and take a shot at turning some of these projects into radio dramas. There’s so much untapped potential to be found here.
It’s worth considering, at least.
