Way back in the last century, I used to do Tai Chi on a regular basis. Mom found the class. I went with her. We did this class for several years. And one thing hit me. The differences in aging.

There were two of us in the class that were under 40 at the time. There were FIVE that were all around 55 at the time. One was the instructor. There were two women who worked together at AT&T (let’s call them Erma and Maude – I have no idea), my mom, and an engineer guy (Dave? Doug?).

There were STARK differences in the students – Mom and Dave/Doug? were active and moving and going strong. They were starting to think about retirement and plans and doing stuff. D played saxophone in bands. Mom worked with college students. Erma and Maude were cashing in their “20” and about to hit the porch rocking chairs and complain about their ailments.

It was (and still is) a stark reminder about the importance of mental aging. Talked to an actress who said she decided to stop mentally “aging” at 25. In her head, that’s how old she wants to be. I chose 30 (young enough for adventures, old enough to know when some things are really stupid).

Now that’s a WHOLE LOTTA backstory for this blog post, why?

Because, here I am in my New Chapter. Splitting my time reinventing a writing career and Elder Care. And I’m wondering WHEN DID I HAVE TIME FOR A DAY JOB? I mean seriously?

Since August, I’ve been in “Hair on Fire” mode.

My calendar fills up quickly. I literally had to block off a day and say “no appointments please” so I could schedule a vaccine side effect day. It’s crunch time for World Fantasy, which involves a lot of logistics between now and then.

This morning, I had to remind myself that it was only 8 a.m. on Monday (I do start about 7 a.m.) and I didn’t have to do ALL THE THINGS RIGHT THIS SECOND. It’s okay to pace myself. Because that’s pre-therapy, pre-meds, Last Chapter Day Job brain. Everything has to be done the second it gets assigned or pops up. Learning that it DOES NOT have to be done THIS SECOND is freeing.

This does NOT mean (necessarily) I’ll be procrastinating, but I can time manage with less guilt. SO TAKE THAT 30 y/o brain! Hah. We don’t have to do everything at the Speed of Miracle (yes, I blame you, Montgomery Scott).

But…if you DO need something from me soon? HAHAHAHAHA, good luck. I’m scheduling into NOVEMBER now. October is booked and closed.

And if you see a fiery glow on the horizon? That’s just my hair on fire as I tackle my To Do list. See you in time for US Thanksgiving…