C is for Cranky

 Today was supposed to be a productive day. My daughter has returned to her apartment and her life, my husband has returned to work so today, I had the run of the house. I crossed the day off on my calendar (something I do when the rest of the week is filling with appointments, as this one has) and eagerly anticipated a day when I could write, read, and focus on projects -- uninterrupted.

The only such day this week. 

Everything was going (mostly) according to plan until I headed out for my only errand of the day -- a trip to the UPS Store with a stop off at Starbucks to grab a chai I could sip on while I worked.

I started my car and it grumbled a little. Then the "check engine" light came on.

So much for my productive day.

I was extremely lucky. The car made it to the garage without any mishaps. They fit me in for an oil change that we all hope will solve the problem. They did some diagnostics and didn't find any major issues, so all it cost me was an oil change.

That, and the afternoon I'd been looking forward to -- the one that was supposed to be productive.

I'm all about gratitude and optimism. I fully realize things could have been so much worse. 

Well, my head does, anyway. The rest of me is cranky. 

There are many writers who believe that it’s essential to write every day. As someone who has a full-time job outside of my writing, I long ago abandoned that level of pressure. But when I go too long without writing, I get cranky. And, when I watch a perfectly good afternoon that was supposed to give me time and space for writing evaporate, I get cranky then, too.

As the rest of the day wore on, my head began to have some sway over my heart, talking it out of cranky and into a reframed perspective whereby I make writing a priority tomorrow to make up for today. Meanwhile, I'm writing this blog post, so the day wasn't a total loss writing-wise. 

And my optimistic side says tomorrow is another day.

I'm not leaving the house until I absolutely have to.