And The Joke Is On Me

So, last month I decided to announce to the world that I was back to writing. Ha. Double Hardy Har Har. The Universe said, "No, dear, I don't think so." Actually, it wasn't the

Universe, it was my father. Who, now that I had all this free time, wanted me to wait on him hand and foot. Every. Single. Day.

I love this picture.

And I have. Until today, when I faked being sick, so I wouldn't have to go to the store for him again. Because he wants me to go to the store EVERY SINGLE DAY. There is nothing worse than redundancy. In my world anyway. I hate doing stupid things twice. I have begged the old man to give me a list on Monday. Groceries, pharmacy, Walmart, Home Depot, bank. Which he does. I do his shopping. I spend all day on Monday running around the lesser Winston-Salem area trying to find all that he needs, deliver everything to his house, and put it away. 

And then every day after that, he finds something else he forgot, that he needs. And no, it has nothing to do with his needing someone to talk to. He's on the phone most afternoons talking to relatives. Or he's in his new workroom not wanting to be disturbed. He's just a selfish old man who wants what he wants when he wants it. He's like a five-year-old who's eighty.

How can I go back to writing when all my time is being spent as a personal assistant who isn't even paid?

However, truth be told, when I re-read the manuscript I started last July, I found I couldn't deal with it. It was memoir-ish fiction, but I had forgotten the horror of the last few years, and after I read it, I cried for three days. There was no way I could write that book. Not now. Maybe not ever. I don't know.

And don't get me wrong, I have about two dozen half-started manuscripts lying in one computer or another. But this story was going to be a good one. It was, until I stopped writing it. I had a break over 4th of July, and wrote 25k in 4 days. I thought it would be a breeze to finish. I never went back, and then my mother passed away, and my life hasn't been the same since.

I've been thinking about a new story. But that's all, just thinking. I believe it would be better for me to finish the Regency series I started seven years ago. I could close that chapter this year if I had the time. But therein lies the problem. Finding the time.

I'll let you know what happens.

Robynne Rand (c) 2022