On another ship
It’s funny, unexpected, but completely expected for me to be on a ship during my two-week “vacation”.
If I’m going to be completely honest, I am 100% a workaholic. Up until I had my son, I was shipping easily 8 months a year. I swear there was one year I was working 10 months. You’d have to ask my friends, however, because I’m sure they were keeping track, even if they say they weren’t.
That’s 8 months confined to a ship. Sure, I get off in port. But, there was only one ship where we actually stayed anywhere for a length of time. Saying I’ve been to other countries is a loose statement. If a ship is only in port for 24, yet I’m working for 15 of those 24, does it even count? I’ve digressed. That’s 8 months, working on a ship, 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. My commute to work was an elevator ride down from the mess hall, which is typically only one deck away. It’s all work.
So, given this information, OF COURSE, I don’t know how to vacation. Give me a spot of free time, and I’ll find some way to be working. It is why I’ve enjoyed this whole writing endeavor. There was one day while finishing Final Draft Alpha where I worked 15 hours and didn’t bat an eye. Who is this monster? Give me a way to focus my free time, and by golly, I’ll work. Give me too much unfocused free time, and I will randomly pack my truck up and decide to drive somewhere to camp, or explore, or whatever you do when you pack up a truck. I’m living my best life when I find a way to be in five different states in a week. I’ve done it. I was pregnant, too, and managed to be so vague I can’t remember where the heck I was.
But, vacation to me meant feeding some other part of my soul. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know that it feels like I gave up working in order to focus on this book. In many ways, it’s true (there is also the whole caretaker issue, as well). I looked in the mirror and decided that in order to make this work, I couldn’t work. There was no going back out to sea until I’ve seen this through. So a short little job for two weeks was a no-brainer. Best yet, I get to still read like a madwoman again.
I am incredibly happy to be out here. I’m on a ship that warms my heart. I’m surrounded by crew I’ve sailed with before and remember fondly. Once I am done here, I’m going to visit with some friends where we have not been in the same room together in far too long. They are the people who originally started helping me, by playing a D&D campaign, to get my creative juices flowing. I adore this little pocket of Texas. It’s where I picked up writing again.
So, of course, I am back out here during my two-week vacation. It’s an imperfect vacation, but my heart is happy.
