Life has gotten a little hectic lately. I’m being pulled in a lot of different directions by a lot of little projects and plans and things I’m telling myself I’m “supposed” to do. I’m getting stressed out, and at the same time, I’m getting less done in the areas that really matter.
I decided yesterday that there are four main things I care about: my family, my friends, my editing, and my writing. I need to focus on those, and even within those categories, I need to simplify as much as possible. I need to put on hold (or cut out entirely) the stuff that’s making me feel like I never have time, like I’m always behind. I need to spend time with Betsy and Evan, and I need to get back to work on Crane Girl.
Of course I still care about things like how the US is doing and how the world is doing — news about humanitarian crises like what’s happening to the Rohingya in Burma and Bangladesh, and all the ways our own president is corroding our democratic institutions. And I’m still going to stay informed. But I donate to Doctors Without Borders and the ACLU already. Instead of worrying and dissipating my energies on a hundred different things, which helps nobody, I need to focus on doing what I do best, and let them focus on doing what they do best. At least for now.
The upshot is that I need to take a break from the blog for a while. Writing these posts is fun, but it also gets to feeling like an obligation sometimes. When the sense of obligation outweighs the fun, it’s time for a change. In about four months, I’ll be back to give this thing another try.
See you in 2018, hypothetical reader! If you’re American, don’t forget to vote on November 7! Happy Halloween, happy Thanksgiving, merry Christmas, and happy New Year!
Brian D. Buckley 
Alright, I guess I’ll actually have to talk to you to see how things are going. To be honest this is going to require a lot more of my time and energy. Sigh I guess I can do it.
I believe in you, Jimmy Taco.
And I mean, theoretically I *could* actually initiate some conversations with you, too. There are rumors going around that phones work both ways, I should probably investigate.
Not only feeing sad but also bad as you’re going into such a long hiatus,but keep up your promise of getting back to blogging on march 2018.
Bye for now,
Ravikiran Shekhar.
See you then!
My goodness. I found you only today. I shall investigate all that is offered until next year. I hope you are wildly successful. Blessed be.
Thanks, you too! WordPress says I have 1,237 posts in the archive, so there’s plenty to read. 🙂
I have quite enjoyed reading your blog every few weeks and catching up on all of the posts that were available for a (few?) years now, so thank you very much for taking the time out of your life to write these blog posts for your readers like myself. I hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc., and that you get the time with your family and life that you should have. Thank you very much!
Sincerely,
A hypothetical reader
Thanks, Alex! 😀 I really appreciate it.