Combining Work and Play (or Not)

I wish I had interesting hobbies, but I don't. I don't ski or rock climb or do anything that involves athleticism, because I have none.

Pretty much all I do, besides working and taking care of my family, is write and read--and more often than not, the writing and reading relate to work.

My husband and kids are always telling me I need to relax more, but I rarely listen.

However, on the rare occasion, I will get together with my cousin Carolyn. This is one of my favorite ways to relax and have fun. Carolyn and I have been best friends since we were teenagers. (This would be a great place to put a photo of Carolyn and me as teens, but we never take pictures. It's sad, really!)

Since our youth, whenever Carolyn and I get together, we do two things: giggle constantly and stay up all night talking. This wasn't a problem when we were young and could recover quickly from an all-nighter, but now, it takes us about three days to bounce back, and we keep saying, "Why do we do this to ourselves?"

The answer is because it's fun. 

I couldn't tell you the things we talk about all night; I've generally forgotten them by the next day. However, most recently, I read Carolyn my current work-in-progress. Yep. She stayed awake all night long to listen to me read my book. Now that's friendship! Of course, she has known me so well for so long that she knows where most of my material comes from, so she has somewhat of a vested interest.

That work-in-progress has since grown significantly. Last night, I wrote "The End" on this manuscript, which now has 59,824 words. Unfortunately, Carolyn was too busy to get together...or was she?! 😂

Even if she didn't listen to my book, I'd still look forward to our next get-together.

You can make new friends, but you can't make new old friends.