Highlights: "Howe's your coffee" at 7:15 AM after a walk to Leigh picking up Tommy's car. I keep offering to do so because it gets me up and out. I have let the daily walks slip as winter's cold weather and dark mornings come into their dominant position for the next few months. I will resume tomorrow, along with a few other habits I must maintain. Mom's chemo cycle began today. Although they did not indicate any concern at the appointment, Tommy pointed out later that they all showed a modest decline. Tomorrow's video appointment may shed more details. It could be nothing, and it could be the start of her body no longer responding as well to the treatments. It might be a demanding year ahead. After a stall due to my incorrect assumptions of her new printer's capabilities, I set it up and worked. Jen went and hung out at Christie's for a few hours, and Tommy was at class, giving me a chance to play with more writing ideas and tones for the book. I am wrestling with first or third-person narratives. I am working to bring together pieces the reader can become familiar with while delaying their proximity to adjoining ones until it all aligns.
Insights: This has been one hell of a year. I am recognizing a need to take bolder steps, to stretch beyond my self-imposed illusion of limitations. I have to stop playing it safe and waiting for what I want. I need to build on my recent breakthroughs with C&C, Jikoji and the Forum and make it all take root and grow. I have to stoke the creative fires that have served us well in the past when it comes to creative and artistic aspirations.