R.I.P.

Maxie is no more. He expired in his quiet, graceful manner on July 28, 2011.

Bye Maxie, you were a good little companion.

Maxie Musings

Maxie has never fully recovered despite my ministrations. On the other hand, Maxie continues with his existence. Mostly he remains still, propped between the heater and an artificial plant. He continues to attack his wee little pellets at feeding time, admittedly not with the same fierceness as previously, but nevertheless, he continues to feed. It seems to me that Maxie leads an existence which is totally based in the now. He has led a singularly uneventful life, free of any dangers he would face in the wild. Maxie doesn't seem perturbed by his waning glory. His existence is punctuated by feeding time, but I don't think Maxie has any sense of time.  There is light and there is dark. There is existence, then there isn't, and until such time as there isn't, he exists, free of memories, free of past and future, free of worldly attachments and desires.

And now, an idea and an appeal to my faithful followers. I think I should name the blog something other than Tree Barking, because it is not entirely about my work. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

Intent

Ever since beginning this blog it was my intent to blog far more often than I do. So much happens every day at work, with the children, with their families, with the ever changing rules and regulations, with the budget, with life in West Contra Costa County, and my intent was, and is, to keep up with this.

My intent, when I agreed to blog for the Albany Patch, was to blog a couple of times a month, nothing grandiose or overly ambitious. And so far, I have posted one, ONE, measly little entry.

My intent is to write on a daily basis so that I can submit a manuscript  while I am still alive.

All these, are my intent.

I read about other writers' work habits, and I am in awe. Somehow they finish a chapter  a day even though they are raising six children, living on farms, growing their own organic produce from seeds, and tending to their livestock. How on earth do they do this?  One thing I know about myself is that I will never be an early riser. My brain does not function early in the morning, and so I won't be one of those writers who is up before dawn to get in a few hours of writing before the demands of the day.

When I first began working in the healthcare 'industry' I fantasized about being free to write in the evenings. Little did I know that I would be writing all day long, At the end of every session I write a summary of what I did for the parents. Then every six months I have to complete a comprehensive evaluation for every child. My days are spent driving from home to home, crawling on the floor, 'playing' with the children. Listening to their parents, communicating with other workers. I come home from work and usually the most energy I can muster is to turn on the TV, lie on the sofa, and breathe.

Now it is July and at last we are enjoying a few days without rain, cold, and fog, I come home from work and sit outside and enjoy the evening breeze and watch the colors change overhead. These long evenings of summer are a blessed event and it is pity to come back inside to write