Apparently I have a severe case of “people burnout.” A few days ago I posted about a lack of free time, and that’s been a problem, but a similar problem is a lack of “alone time.” I’ve gone without it for most of the summer, including evenings and weekends, and on Sunday something snapped.
Or dripped might be the right word. Our family was camping, and that’s always fun but a whole ton of work before and after, and on top of that there was a lot of socializing, and I had gone back to the tent for some alone time, to nap and work on a story in progress. And then my husband came up and said, “Kristin,” and I said “Go away,” and he said, “It’s raining, we have to take the tent down.” Which we did. Because otherwise, we would have had to pack up a wet tent and take it home, and somehow dry it, and it would have been a huge hassle.
Basically, all week I’ve felt like my brain has had the flu – mental exhaustion, emotional exhaustion, and immense feelings of resentment. It’s hard to think, hard to do work, hard to talk to people. So I’ve been busy taking my precious free moments to read books, play Katamari, and take walks. It’s helping. This morning for the first time I’ve been inspired and energized to come downstairs and write. Hope I can keep it up!
Long story short, dear beloved people in my life – if it looks like I’m avoiding you, don’t take it personally.
Kristin Ann King 