Spring is here in sunny South Carolina, full of warmth and birdsong. During this season, I find working out of doors irresistible and end up starting ambitious gardening projects, most of which I struggle to keep going through the intense heat of summer. This does wonders for curing me of my perfectionism. Year after year, I’m reminded of my limits as a human being.

Art is something I try to be methodical about, despite knowing that I can’t possibly cram a novel like I crammed assignments in college. But I’m an incurable idealist. If I haven’t failed at something yet, I’ll try for success and believe the impossible is just another box I can check off if I try hard enough. I’ve been going about my writing goals that way all year, leading to inevitable burnout and it’s only March!

Springtime has stepped in, like a gentle, soft-spoken Queen of Life and reminded me to take it slower, to make room for sunshine and airs and the quiet stillness birdsong drops into on a lazy afternoon. I can’t create anything if my soul is a ragged, overworked thing.

I’m taking a hiatus from blogging, for an undetermined length of time, and I’m planning on filling my days with:

being outdoors

reigning in the shrubbery’s enthusiastic growth

planting my summer garden

planting flowers for the first time ever

decorating my outdoor spaces to make them more inviting

preparing my water systems for the coming heat

making out-of-doors memories with my 5 little naturalists

writing when I feel a stir, but only just

When I come back, I’ve got plenty of writing goals to tackle. Hopefully, I’ll be able to pursue them in a more balanced, healthy manner than how I’ve operated at the beginning of this year. Cheers!