I spend my evening driving — a straight shot down Lake Michigan. Three hours, two of them spent on HR audio tracks that I hope will help. A half-hour on a D&D podcast. A half-hour of vibing to music, mostly Taylor Swift. She has her new playlists out on the five stages of grief and I cry to “Bigger Than The Whole Sky”, a song I try not to listen to since last summer. Unless I need to. Sometimes you need to.
It’s getting hard not to think about it again, but life is full of other pressing distractions — work and certifications and volunteer things I owe. Just in writing, I remembered two more things I have to do for the League of Women Voters. See, I’m properly distracted.
I check in to my hotel and stop at the bar before I go to my room, a nightcap of red wine that they pour into a plastic cup for me. It sits on my nightstand, waiting while I finish studying — two quizzes to take if I want to stay on pace, then a little work, then a show before bed. Yes, my sleep schedule is still fucked. We’re rolling with it.
Tomorrow though, I’m just going to have fun. A half day of work and then time with my friend and an author event in the evening. It should be a day of the best kind of distractions because they are not distractions at all — they are the core of how I want to live my life. I want to live the kind of life where I spend time with people I love and do things that make me happy. And I’m happy to drive down Lake Michigan to do it.
With Love,
Natalie