Sharing a bench with my Muse

I asked Carol if she thought I should go on hiatus from the blog now that our travels were done for a while.

“I suppose the readers could use a break,” she said.

“I was…” I started to reply defensively, but thought for a second before it struck me suddenly that a hiatus for me might not be as big a break as I was thinking.

I totaled up the time it took me to write a typical blog and subtracted it from the time I thought I would gain by taking a hiatus. The answer surprised me.

My office easily converts to a playroom

I thought that with a hiatus, I could do a lot of the things I’d been avoiding because of my blog writing. I could read more than usual, take more walks with Carol, get some things done around the house, take in a movie or two, maybe go to a lecture.

But, like I say, I was surprised by what my analysis showed. “Guess what I can do on my hiatus?” I told Carol.

“More or less what you do now,” Carol replied.

While on sabbatical, I plan to do a lot of cloud gazing

Well, since I haven’t been reading more than usual, taking more walks with Carol, getting some things done around the house, taking in a movie or going to a lecture, I wasn’t sure what she meant. But I was sufficiently suspicious not to press for more details.

I’d be the first to admit that my work habits are, um, subtle. I don’t work at a desk or with a keyboard. I’d like to think it’s part of my overall philosophy and persistence of a writer that “I can write anywhere and under any conditions.” It’s just that most people don’t consider slouching on a couch or lying in bed their idea of “anywhere and under any conditions.” Once Carol came into the living room where I was “working” and began talking to me.

“Hon, I’m writing now,” I said politely.

“Oh, sorry. I thought you were just staring.”

The next morning, we found this guy dead next to our cabin. I took it as a sign to ease up and smell the roses.

I do not believe I am retired, but have capitulated to the conventionally understood parameters of work, and tell people when asked that I am retired. I realize that lying in bed or slouching on a couch are generally associated with rest or leisure and not work. Worse, depending on the time of day one is found lying in bed or slouching on a couch (full disclosure: I do write in the afternoons) it may be even considered to be indolent and slothful.

So, in the end, I won’t call this interlude from blogging a hiatus. Taking a page from academia, I’m going to declare this a sabbatical. Instead of writing in bed into the afternoon, I will lie there contemplatively. Instead of slouching on the couch and writing, I will simply slouch with a bag of Doritos balanced on my stomach.

This should clean out the cobwebs and recharge the batteries, so that I come back with the high-energy travel and relationship blogs you have come to expect.

I am thinking maybe I should set an alarm.