In Case You Need to Hear This...Take a Nap

and a few important fall announcements.

Every fall semester when I was in grad school, I would turn in final papers, submit final grades, get on a plane that took me from freezing New Brunswick to still-balmy Austin, eat tacos and drink beer on a patio at 2 am with all of my favorite people who were also home for the holidays…and then inevitably spend the next week sick on my parents’ couch, feeling sorry for myself while my mom brought me tea and we watched Miracle on 34th Street.

I was never sure if these spells were a gift or a warning from the universe. I couldn’t (or wouldn’t) take breaks during those last few weeks of the semester, so when the adrenaline wore off and my immune system gave up, it forced me to power down for a bit. All these years later, I still haven’t really learned.

(I Can’t) Do All the Things!

The kids didn’t go back to school until just a few weeks ago, which of course meant I immediately launched myself into high gear—doing a lot of things I wanted to do (Work on my book! Edit other books I’m really excited about! Start writing circles!) while also managing everything that I’ve been putting off (Actually moving my body every day! Meal planning! Undooming the doom boxes in every room! Figuring out where our winter clothes are in case it snows in two weeks, because who knows! Taxes!)

And of course all of the back-to-school germs came home, and boom! I got sick. The first few days, I powered through (we can still go out of town! I can still get dinner with friends! Of course I can go to that talk tonight!). And then, yesterday, I crashed. Hard. Got home from dropping the kids off and slept for four hours. And then, for the first time in ages, I did…nothing. I read a little. Ordered dinner in. But basically did nothing.

Rest is Resistance

I am such a big believer that rest matters and slow and steady is really the only way to do things because we’re not running races.

When my kids tell me they need a mental health day to decompress, I trust that they know their limits and we take the day (I think perfect attendance awards are ableist nonsense, but that’s another rant for another day).

When my writers tell me are touching the book every day but the words aren’t getting on the page fast enough, I remind them that those words didn’t exist yesterday, and that incrementalism is one way great books are written (Graham Greene was famous for saying he wrote 500 words, and only 500 words, every day).

I have this vaguely karmic belief that all important work we do comes into being when it needs to, so when it’s time for your book or article or op-ed or grant to exist, it will (I am SO GLAD, no matter what happens, that I didn’t publish version 1 of this book I’m writing).

I also believe that, as Tricia Hersey so brilliantly articulates, that Rest is Resistance. When I’m talking to people about productivity these days, I talk about making space for the shit that matters. Writing matters, and so does rest. If we protected our time for rest, our time for doing nothing, then we’ll have time for the things that are not just urgent, but necessary and important and life-affirming.

Do you know what happens if you don’t answer an email? People find answers elsewhere. Do you know what happens if you don’t go to a meeting that could have been an email? They send you the important notes later. Do you know what happens when you don’t take enough time to do nothing? Your body powers down, and forces you to rest.

Choose to Rest Instead

Of course, all of that grace is easier to extend to other people than it is to myself. But that can change. So I’m more-or-less taking the rest of the week off. When I am working on the book, I’m dong freewriting—getting words into the world and on paper. I’m not forcing myself to do the kind of focused, targeted work that needs, at some point, to be done—just not today. I’m doing some reading. Jim and I shifted around some stuff (he’ll do the PTO meeting tonight to talk about how reducing all reading instruction to test prep is bananagrams, I’ll do the next round of battles).

And, inspired by this perfect creature, I’m off to take a nap.

And you should too. Close your office door, roll out the yoga mat you keep under your desk, and close your eyes for a bit. Skip the assessment committee meeting, sneak home, and stretch out on your couch. If it’s still warm where you are, take a picnic blanket to work with you and go find a field on your lunch break. The world will be better for it.

Epilogue Editing Calendar and Announcements:

As always, thanks so much for sharing this newsletter and these events with your friends and colleagues who might be excited about them.

October: NEW! Thinking Like An Editor Master Class! These will be rescheduled - more soon.

November: AcWriMo! We’re only a month away from November 1, which means AcWriMo is coming quick. I’ll have more details about the free AcWriMo writing group soon, but you can register here if you want to commit to writing together for a month.

December: A little editing pause. I’m going to be taking December 17-January 10 off from editing to decompress, spend family time, and focus on the writing retreat. If you have something in the pipeline and we haven’t talked about it yet, let’s touch base to figure out how to schedule it around that that time. If we’ve already talked, you’re on my schedule =)

January: Writing retreat. The luminary Mirya Holman of MHAWS and I are hosting another MEE Centered Writing Retreat, and it’s filling up quickly—we have ONE seat left! Don’t wait to apply—You can come write with us January 2-6, 2024 in the Texas Hill Country, one of my favorite places in all the world. All the goal setting. All the writing sessions. All the snacks. All the firepits and stargazing. It’ll be warm enough to take walks outside. The details are all here and the application is here, and I’m happy to answer any questions and hopefully last week’s newsletter helps you brainstorm ways your university will pay for this. You can also use the application to indicate interest in our May retreat in Atlantic City.

Spring semester: Writing circles… Our fall writers’ circles are even more amazing than I imagined they would be. I’ll be officially announcing the spring sessions soon, but you can find more information here, and you can use the application form here to apply. The price is discounted if you register before Nov 1.

…And Spring editing! This is a great time to set up a time for us to work together in the spring—let me know if you’d like to get on my editing calendar for mid-January and beyond. Bring me great stuff to read! Let’s get it published!