“Happiness consists of living each day as if it were the first day of your honeymoon and the last day of your vacation.” – Leo Tolstoy

For the first time since last July, I have a whole week off from work, and even though both Corb and I are now fully vaccinated, we have elected to stay inside Green Victoria and begin work on transforming Ashes’ old bedroom into Ted’s new office. We are now on our fourth day of work.

Clarification: set designer/chandelier restorer/master builder Corb is really the muscles and brains behind the operation, so I am getting a vacation of sorts. I sit in the bedroom and help when needed and every so often get to sneak off and work on something like, say, this entry. And, that’s nice.

So far, we have created a pocket door for the entrance, which frees up a lot of space, and just finished the drywall. We are now in the midst of filling in the holes created as a result of tearing down old drywall, reframing and rewiring some crummy previous construction and then, we may take a break and get away from our house for a few days, and actually travel for a bit.

As I begin to think of the next chapter of my life, these are the things that fill my head: travel, reconstruction, good food, writing and art, and spending time with people I truly love. Oddly, the thought of jumping from one year of isolation into directing a theater production holds little appeal. Will that feeling last? 

The thought of this office holds the most appeal. I have a vision of a drafting table occupying center stage, allowing me to place pen to paper, to create, to be free, to set sail for wherever my imagination wants to go. The room will have a Caribbean feel, reminding me of all the trips we’ve taken these past five years. This room represents my next destination, the anchor lifted, with clear blue skies.

Part of worries: at the age of 55, how creative can I really get? Is there really another chapter in the books? I’ve had so many great chapters in my life. 

Don’t worry about worries. Deep breath. Visualize. Create, travel, eat well, love well. That sounds like a good set of prioritizes for this next chapter. That journey begins HERE. 

–April 22, 2021