A week ago, my husband and I returned from a 6-week trip that included a month in India, two overnight stops in New York where we caught up with a couple of my friends, and a full week in Puerto Rico where Chris’s good friend and his brother guided us from one amazing sunny beach to another.
Anyone who has kept up with this blog over the past couple of years will know that I have wanted to take a journey of this nature for a very long time. I'd hoped for six months, but six weeks proved enough for now. While I find it nearly impossible right now to articulate the amazing experiences and sights in India and Puerto Rico, I know that it was a worthwhile trip. On the one hand, my desire to see the part of India where my family originates and to see some of India in general is satisfied, and on the other, I am hungrier than ever to see much more of the world. But taking this trip was, in and of itself, reassurance that my husband and I will indeed make other extended trips in the future, with or without a family in toe.
I noticed something while I was traveling that made me a bit sad. I find it nearly impossible to write in a journal anymore – pen to paper writing. I need a keyboard to tap away at in order to properly record my thoughts. The journal I brought to India is not nearly as full as I’d anticipated it would be.
Today is the first time in a very long time that I have sat at a computer to vomit words onto the screen. I did a little blogging in India to keep people posted on our travels, but I have not done any reflective writing in a long time.
For that matter, I have not really done any fiction writing in a long time. Ideas have slowly begun working their way into my psyche. Last night, I jumped over to my laptop when the makings of a story started percolating inside my brain. I typed out the words that were dripping and felt a bit relieved: Maybe I have not forgotten how to write a story. I guess we shall see…
Next week the summer session for which I am IA-ing begins. It ends two weeks before my classes start and before I begin teaching my own classes for the first time. I have a lot of anxiety about teaching two freshman comp classes while I also attempt to write and keep up with my other schoolwork. A LOT of anxiety. I also have a lot of resentment about having to teach while I try to write. But I’m trying to keep both the anxiety and resentment at bay and trying to remember that these are temporary conditions.
I’m aiming to get back to a regular blog routine too. My goal is one post a week. Something else we shall have to see about. I'm happy to be home and happy to have a laptop at my fingertips at all times. So cheers.
No comments:
Post a Comment