hiatus

I am back from a relatively unintentional blogging hiatus. It seems that once I get out of a routine of any sort it takes me more time than one should reasonably expect in order for me to get back into it. This is the case for exercise, shaving my legs, reading my Bible, waking up early, tweezing my eyebrows, and just about everything in between. Sometimes it does work in my favor though, too. Once I stop going into Anthropologie on my lunch break, eating ice cream before bed, or gossiping at work, it's easy for me to slip into a new, better routine. Those bad things, just like the good things, slip out of my day-to-day living once the cycle of repetition is broken.

I'm finding however, that while I've been ready for a few weeks to get back into a rhythm of writing I have been battling some serious writer's block. I sit down and my fingers don't work for writing. No matter if it's typing or trying the old fashioned way and writing in a journal, they haven't been connecting with the words in my brain and I frankly just have not summoned up the discipline required to make them do something they don't want to.

So in honor of a new school year (next week) I'm getting a head start on the discipline that I'm going to need this year by committing to writing for a half hour every day - whether I feel like it or not. I will ultimately be required to memorize the DSM-IV for class this quarter. You know, to develop the skills and knowledge base necessary in order to be able to make an educated diagnosis and all that... I am excited about this, don't get me wrong. But do I love weekly quizzes? No. Does the buzz surrounding the difficulty of this class freak me out? You better believe it. But I do love feeling like I am taking one giant step closer to becoming a real live therapist. I'm a little bit terrified, but seriously looking forward to knowing this stuff. Alas, discipline will be the name of the game this quarter; and to be honest with you, I'm relieved.

I've been living untethered for the last few weeks and it's been less than ideal. I haven't been able to get myself motivated to do much in so many of the nooks and crannies of my life. My heart, soul, mind, and body are paying serious consequences too. So I'm ushering in a new season by extending an official challenge to myself to organize my time better. There are other things I'm doing to make this happen (fodder for future writing, perhaps), not the least of which will be getting back into the rigorous routine of a graduate student. But the decision to carve out a half hour of time for something that I know to be good for me, for something I know I love, will be good for my heart. I can't promise that all of these half hours of writing will be spent equally well. Some may be inspired, some may be a little less so. Hopefully you'll read them anyway.