July

The heat is here in the form of humidity. Kids are still off for the summer, bored unless continually entertained. Other people with less focused jobs are looking for their version of summer to happen. It shouldn't be high stress, but it is. Ultimately, everyone will remember the good times - lounging at the pool, parties in the yard, waking up late.

But I will remember the interviening bitching and moaning about not having any fun. If it's my last memory, I will retain it as a hissing cautionary tale to anyone whose expectations exceed reality.

In fact, the reason I'm writing this during working hours instead of working is because 3 little boys are tearing apart the house, and all I can produce is this blithering rant about summer. Break that apart for a moment: I'm working from home on a summer day, kids entertained, and there's enough time to spend on a fun blog post. What's not to like?

It's cumulative damage, death by a thousand cuts. The first week is good. The second is okay. The third, I'm behind on assignments. The fourth, my work-life balance has become a work-life cage fight where I gotta cook 5 meals and supervise the kids between rounds. When I was a kid, summer and cage fighting were awesome. Now it's just ...

So, on the upside, I'm on track for the Realms' Anchor book IV beta read by the end of summer. Oh, the glorious end of summer. Cold air, school. Dammit, there's all the kids sports and stuff that starts up too. But I can't measure my days by chaos, only the focused time. And kids in school means I get like 5-6 hours of pure productivity. Before you think I'm too productive, I also watch TV or play video games at night like it's my other other job. Only way to recharge.