Three Shifts to the Wind

Despite having had a lovely weekend in Duluth, the title to the blog is not a typo. I was never “three sheets to the wind” this weekend, but today I find myself “three shifts to the wind.” Only three more shifts of work as a waitress before the restaurant closes for its seasonal hiatus and I am on to the next chapter of life. I’m looking forward to the new challenges ahead of me that better match general career ideas I had in mind when I got my degree. That’s not to say I think being a waitress was a wash. It sure taught me a lot about human nature and made me a better tipper. And now, whenever times get tough, I’ve got some waitressing and bartending skills under my belt and that’s really nothing to be sniffed at.

I should be working to think of something beyond the cliché, but I just have to say this next thing: doesn’t it seem like things have been moving awfully quickly as of late? Half the time these days, I find myself thinking it’s still February. I can not believe quickly things change. In the past month the winter has made a dramatic flip into spring; I have gone from a waitress to a manager; and I have gotten a refund check from my insurance company for growing older. In less than two weeks we head off to the Pacific Northwest. Can you believe it? I bet you thought it would never get here. Especially after I’ve been talking about the April travels for what borders right on forever.

With only a few hours of work left, I’ve been given a bit of extra time to cobble some stuff together for another large freelance project that threatens to consume every moment of free time I have this summer. I’m extremely grateful for the extra time to get some pre-work done before the big push during the first part of May.

I have one chapter left to revise on the novel before the revision process is done! That should get finished up before the day’s done tomorrow. Another day you thought would never come!

The ice in the bay outside the Shack is rotting. So Andy suggested an ice fishing expedition for tomorrow. Hmmm. . . .

Had book group this morning. We really talk very little about books. When there are itty bitty babies to be “oohhed” and “ahhed” over, I guess that’s to be expected. Seeing that new little guy today (one month old, but actually still a couple days shy of his due date) sure reminded me that motherhood is not something pulling at my instincts or heartstrings just yet. I’m not even ready for the cat Andy keeps pulling for.

I spent the weekend in Duluth catching up with a lot of friends. We had a slumber party on Saturday night at a friends’ house. They’ve recently finished some remodeling and watching their two-year-old lab puppy prance around the coffee table on which the friend’s massive wedding planner sat, reminded me just how far we are from that lifestyle in the Shack. I’m still on my “let’s move every six months!” lifestyle. That’s not to say there aren’t lovely things about the lifestyle we’ve chosen in the woods, but there are just so many ways to live a life, aren’t there?

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Spring Fever

Last night at work, I brought the vats of chili and soup out to the walk-in coolers outside and took a big whiff of fresh air. It smelled green and earthy and moist. “Smells like spring,” I told the cook.

In the last week, as melted snow has started to pour down roofs in rivulets, we’ve all gotten a touch of spring fever. It seems Orion, the constellation that marks the passing of winter, is running hastily out of the night sky. The once frozen outside world that smelled only of pine and sunflower seed on warm days is being push aside to make room for a new sensory world that smells awake, albeit, a bit groggy. The puppies that lived on the lake with their sled dog counterparts all winter headed home today. Although the sled dogs have a couple more tours to give this winter, the warm weather has turned their lake home into a puddle. So they’re off to their summer homes and will return for their scheduled tours.

Yes, it’s too early for mud season, but nonetheless, the road from the Shack to the main road is a pile of slush and muck. While it’s easy to be deluded into a sense of imminent spring, we’re all pretty confident that we haven’t seen the last of winter yet. That’s just how seasons are in the great north woods.

Things are falling into place for the coming summer. While it’s tempting to focus on wonderful things to come, that’s not my best plan. Currently I have a to-do list too long to fit on a Post-It note. Why is there always something that not getting the attention it deserves?

It’s International Women’s Day today. I shall celebrate by writing one article, two commentaries and finishing a chapter. What better way to celebrate the day then doing what I want to do? I am a truly privileged young woman blessed to have the biggest struggles in getting what I want be internal. I have a lot, a lot of amazing women from the past and present to thank for that.

Off to work, more later . . .

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