Like school, or writing, or just days in general... there simply are not enough hours to do it all!
OK, ok... I know the quote about everyone having the same amount of hours, it's how you use them that counts. And I agree. So much so that I had to relearn prioritizing my time so I could use those hours after work to be more productive with my writing and healthier for my mind and body (see: courage, dear heart).
And I guess the same applies to traveling - you can't possibly do it all (and if you do, are you really experiencing? Or just doing?)
So I stopped blogging during our travels because 1) it was hard enough to keep up with my notes from experiences and interviews (what I was there for) and 2) blogging from the iPad mini to Weebly proved to be too much of a challenge!
I've been back now for 2 weeks, where I've reflected and journaled some more, plus shook off the jet-lag. I'm not looking for sympathy, trust me. But this introvert was tested for 3 solid weeks: as soon as school got out, we had 30+ family members in town and I spent at least 12 hours a day with them! They left on a Sunday, I flew out on Monday. Every day was jammed-packed with an itinerary that allowed for some flexibility and discovery, but I wanted to use up every moment so most days started around 8am and ended after sunset... which is about 11pm there! And I brought Mom with because I wanted her to experience Northern Ireland again, but I also needed that push to keep me engaged with people, talking, questioning, and listening. That meant talking to the couple next to us at the coffee shop, each and every taxi driver, tour guides, etc. LOTS of conversations (good! but also, exhausting when you get your energy from quiet time...) . Also, when I flew back, we had company in our house ... so, last week I was essentially a hermit.
But it gave me plenty of time to reflect and jump right back into the manuscript that sat untouched for too many weeks.
I chronicled the trip closely on Instagram so family and friends could keep track of our whereabouts and see just how incredible the country of Northern Ireland is! But over the next few blog posts, I'm going to also share on here for anyone interested in seeing where we went or how I used this experience to deepen my understanding of the people, culture, and conflict that inspired my story.
Key successes from the experience:
Stayed tuned for the trip and story details in coming posts...
OK, ok... I know the quote about everyone having the same amount of hours, it's how you use them that counts. And I agree. So much so that I had to relearn prioritizing my time so I could use those hours after work to be more productive with my writing and healthier for my mind and body (see: courage, dear heart).
And I guess the same applies to traveling - you can't possibly do it all (and if you do, are you really experiencing? Or just doing?)
So I stopped blogging during our travels because 1) it was hard enough to keep up with my notes from experiences and interviews (what I was there for) and 2) blogging from the iPad mini to Weebly proved to be too much of a challenge!
I've been back now for 2 weeks, where I've reflected and journaled some more, plus shook off the jet-lag. I'm not looking for sympathy, trust me. But this introvert was tested for 3 solid weeks: as soon as school got out, we had 30+ family members in town and I spent at least 12 hours a day with them! They left on a Sunday, I flew out on Monday. Every day was jammed-packed with an itinerary that allowed for some flexibility and discovery, but I wanted to use up every moment so most days started around 8am and ended after sunset... which is about 11pm there! And I brought Mom with because I wanted her to experience Northern Ireland again, but I also needed that push to keep me engaged with people, talking, questioning, and listening. That meant talking to the couple next to us at the coffee shop, each and every taxi driver, tour guides, etc. LOTS of conversations (good! but also, exhausting when you get your energy from quiet time...) . Also, when I flew back, we had company in our house ... so, last week I was essentially a hermit.
But it gave me plenty of time to reflect and jump right back into the manuscript that sat untouched for too many weeks.
I chronicled the trip closely on Instagram so family and friends could keep track of our whereabouts and see just how incredible the country of Northern Ireland is! But over the next few blog posts, I'm going to also share on here for anyone interested in seeing where we went or how I used this experience to deepen my understanding of the people, culture, and conflict that inspired my story.
Key successes from the experience:
- Affirmation from people I spoke with that the story is important, universal, and worth telling.
- Respect for myself as a writer - others take me seriously, so I need to be doing the same for myself every day.
- Portrush is definitely the spot - the setting and story and plot all weaved together with the experiences and people I met there.
Stayed tuned for the trip and story details in coming posts...