Vacation time is upon me and this post is an online sigh of acknowledgement to that fact. Life does get crazy and mostly I do it to myself with various projects and pass-times. Running, reading, playing music, writing (for pleasure) and volunteering here and there, doing this and that, leave time for little else except kids and work, and work has been full on. Many, many new people looking to learn English in a dynamic and different way, turning prospective students away because there are not enough hours in the day is always difficult for me. Also, the explosion of new clients aiming to get a head start on their chosen market shows no sign of letting up even with summer holidays on the horizon. France is notorious for shutting its business doors for most of August and I have been working to the wire, writing into the night to get various projects wrapped up before taking off myself. But wrapped up they are, like giant Christmas presents with bows on top, I have delivered them all, drank the milk and eaten the cookies like a summer cyber-Santa.
Tomorrow is the departure for three weeks in the Irish countryside, I will still be able to indulge in all of my aforementioned passions but without a clock ticking in the back ground. What I yearn for is the quiet. Living in a sparsely furnished apartment with my two kids, a pile of David Foster Wallace and John Steinbeck novels, my trusty computer (sans Internet for zero disruptions like email and social networking) and my running shoes is all I need. Having invested so much time in writing for everyone else, with great joy I must admit, this much-needed break will give me the chance to take my own book to the finish line. By my reckoning another three to four weeks should see the bulk of it done and then the commencement of the editing process. It will also be a shot of inspiration to be back writing it in the town where it all began, full circle. The harmony will give my mind a chance to breathe and hear things properly. Everywhere I go there is noise, music, lights. What has happened to us? Conversations are easier through mobile devices and don't get me started on the decline in reading and writing! There is a fear of silence and quiet and an over-riding need to have something in the background to keep us company. Being alone with your thoughts is a good thing, it means your actually thinking. It's what I'll be doing on my down time, but not too much of it mind you.