up, up, and away

My bags are packed. Poppet is at the boarder’s and the house feels half-empty because of her absence. Amazing how one 8 lb dog can do that.

I’m praying for travel mercies. I don’t like to travel in the winter much. There’s the bulky coat to deal with on the plane and concerns about icy wings and icy roads, etc. Snow is predicted for here in the morning, and snow and rain where I’m going. How come there aren’t any Christian TV networks in Hawaii? And if there is, why aren’t I going there? Instead, I’m flying to Chicago where I’ll do two interviews on Monday, then drive to South Bend for one more on Wednesday morning. Then drive back to Chicago to fly home Wednesday night.

Someone asked if I still get nervous when I speak. No, not really. I’m a people person and an extravert and, as one director told me 20+ years ago, I’m a natural born ham. Not that I never get butterflies. Sometimes I do. But for the most part, I feel very much at ease speaking to groups (I’ve addressed groups as large as 2000) and on TV and radio. I think I’ve learned to just roll with the punches!

I’m taking a notebook and hoping to make some of my disjointed thoughts for a book start coming into focus as I brainstorm on paper. I’m glad to be done with rewriting. I’m ready to start creating something new. Of course, at the start of a book, everything is possible. It looks like it could be "the great American novel." This is before the really hard work begins. But brainstorming isn’t hard. Brainstorming, even with just myself, is fun.

My bags are packed. I’m ready to go…

-rlh-