Catch!

So, this week was supposed to be brilliant because I’m on leave from the day job, the summer has finally, after six years of getting here, arrived, I was ready to start my next book, dreams of sitting out under an umbrella with iced coffee to hand and fingers flying over the keyboard. And what happened? The sun vanished and it rained – don’t even get me started on the forecast for next week - I had to go to the dentist with a problem and I came down with a virus that has meant more time lying on the sofa waiting for painkillers to kick in than sitting at my desk at the screen face, watching my word count rise. Frustrated.com.

Our American cousins have a fabulous saying for this – this is life throwing you a curveball. A curveball doesn’t sound so bad, does it? But its dictionary definition is downright nasty – something that is unexpected or designed to trick or deceive. For me this week it’s only been a little curveball but one that has totally wrecked my plans and made me feel utterly miserable and quite cheesed off. Exactly the same thing happened to me at Christmas when I stopped work for a few days. It seems to be a common thing that we run on high stress as the norm so when the stress temporarily disappears, our bodies nosedive into recovery mode and things we may have been fighting at a low level for some time have the space to rear up front and centre. Hello, virus.

So by now you’ll be expecting one of those platitudes about when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade, but right now, I’d be much more inclined to chuck the pitcher. What I have realised though, tossing and turning for half the night, is that me being angry and uptight in full diva mode, really isn’t helping me feel any better. I had other plans for my holiday but at least I can sleep on the sofa without the pressure of having to be anywhere else and I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about scenes while trying not to watch the clock tick round to morning. I’m just finishing reading a book I really haven’t enjoyed that much so now I get to read one I will, without feeling guilty about not doing something else. I’m going to try giving myself a break and boosting up my immune system with lovely things like reflexology and massage ;)

But I’m still annoyed about the weather forecast . . .