7:39 am Oh, that was a rotten night of mostly not sleeping. The unfamiliarity of a new place but also the heat and the absence of my pillow. I am a tender flower. I did get another hour and a half or so of writing on the memoir last night and it’s brought me back … Continue reading Millheim Retreat, Day 2: Three Vignettes

I’m at Toni’s place in Millheim for a few days of work on the memoir.  It’s 5pm day one and I’ve been here since 11:30 this morning. No internet at all, just the sound of traffic outside—cars and Amish carts clomping by—and the occasional hammering sound coming through from the neighboring apartment. I don’t remember … Continue reading Millheim Retreat, Day 1: Room Enough

Almost 500 words excruciatingly extracted on Friday. It was not fun. I reminded myself of a small, stupid bird tricked by a clear pane of glass. No, Sheila, you cannot get through that way. No wonder my head hurt the whole time. I've been here before, and by "here" I mean at this point in the story. … Continue reading Stupid Bird (FDB,S! Day 2)

This is always the hardest part: coming back to the thing after a too-long hiatus. Whatever finely honed, keen observations I might have had about the book last summer (because yes, it's been that long), have long since become muddy and amorphous. I am back to having only the most general sense of what the … Continue reading Finish the Damn Book, Sheila! (Day 1)

Just a few hours ago I entered final grades for one of the most stressful and emotional (in both good and bad ways) semesters I've ever had. My students were great, and the classes themselves were often fun and invigorating. Even Freshman composition, sometimes. The problem was not with the students; it was with the … Continue reading Driving the Car at Night