Me and Vacations—Putting Family First

I’m a workaholic; I always have been. When I was teaching, I could enjoy vacation until the last day or two. Then I found things I had to do.
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Now that I’m retired, I work all the time, I don’t have to, but writing and publishing took over my life. If you look, you can catch me working in these two photos.
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In the first one, I’m pretending to read so my husband can take a picture. Lake Fun for You and Me, my second book, was coming out, and I needed a photo for social media.
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In the second, I’m really writing. I always sit in a comfy chair with a great view. That’s where I write stories for picture books and middle grade novels. I design posts for my blog and book reviews, and I create newsletters and video scripts. It’s hard to stop writing, but I’m learning.


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​​Part 1: Putting Family First:​  By the time I retired, my children were grown, and they’d moved away. Visits were precious so I tried to be present, and I wrote later.

If I visited during their work week, I’d write all day. Then take time off for dinner. When we settled in to watch TV or a movie, then I went back to work.
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Looking back, I wish I’d put off working until my kids went to bed. I’m a night owl so it’s easy for me to stay up and write. 

BTW—these photos are not my kids or grandkids. Their images are private.


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​ In 2019, I published my first book, Neil Armstrong’s Wind Tunnel Dream, and my first grandchild was born. Since then, two more joined the family. Time with them is precious.

My husband and I travel 2-3 days to see them for birthdays and holiday vacations. I work all the way there. That’s easy! Once we arrive, I work hard to keep myself from writing. To invest my time in building and maintaining a relationship with them.

Writing, it’s what I do when they’re napping or down for the night. In the six years since the first grand arrived, I’ve learned how to spend my 3-5 hours of writing time. I keep up on my blog and my vlog. The biggest blessing, classic posts; That’s a nice way of saying the old ones. They’re worth pulling out and dusting off. AND, they preserve my time with the grands!

 
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​Part 2: Hanging Out With Family:  I’m a night owl, but my children and grandchildren are early birds. To spend more time with them, I get up early too.
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I used to be up when the grands woke, but now I’m up an hour later. It’s still way earlier than usual. With the oldest, we play a game where she tries to wake me up. So far, she hasn’t caught me snoring, but who knows? She might get me the next time!

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​I also try to be present when they’re up. I don’t work. I don’t hang out with the adults. Wherever my grandkids are, that’s where you’ll find me.
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Whatever they’re doing, I try to do. When I’m too old, too stiff to join in their fun, I turn into an audience of one, and I cheer from the sidelines. 
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When I hang out with my grands, it’s all about the play. If we’re inside, I’m all in for hide and seek, Candyland, cards, whatever game they pull out.

Outside it depends…I’m terrible at throwing, catching, running, but I can still handle the swings. Slides and monkey bars, not so much either. Some things just don’t age well; at least not on me ☹

When the grands do things I can’t, I join the audience. I watch, applaud, and cheer. That way we’re all happy.

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My grands can count on me as a TV/movie buddy. I’ll watch anything from Mr. Rogers to Bluey, from Frozen to the new SpongeBob movie.

I feel the same way about books. I’ll read any story they hand me until we have to stop. My favorites, the ones I gave them, of course!
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Part 3: Heading Home and Staying Connected: All good things must come to an end, and so do family vacations. I treasure time with my kids and my grandkids, yet I’m also happy to get back on the road again.
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​​Within minutes, I’m on my computer, writing and revising again. First up, the stories I put on hold to hang out with family.


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​I have two WIP’s, writer-speak for Works In Progress. Charley’s back, and so am I. We’re working with Callie again, and my new goal—to polish Chapters 1-3 until they’re submission ready. I’m close, and Callie will tell me when they’re done.

As for the other illustration, it stands for my safety book. I haven’t pulled it out for a couple of years, but my Friday critique group has looked at it 2-3 times. One more Friday, and it should be submission ready too. BTW, so is my Nativity story. I spent 3-4 weeks before Christmas dusting it off and polishing it again. 


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Now that I’m home again, it’s time to work on staying connected to my grands. For the older two, I video-call once a week. It only lasts a couple minutes; long enough for them to tell me what they’re up to or for me to ask.

​For the littlest, he taught me something new…His mom sent me a quick video. He said, “Hi grandma. Love you.” That’s it! Short and sweet! It took me a few hours to realize I could shoot a video too. His reaction—he burst into a smile as soon as he saw it. At his age, that’s HUGE! If you have a little who isn’t ready to video chat, I think it’s a great way to stay connected!