Ode to Boring

The school year's over, exams are read, and I'm back home to my boring life. Oh, how I've missed it. I now have five weeks of routine. Work all week, work around the house on weekends. Yes, it is what some would call dull, but dull is good. Dull gives me time to think, to contemplate, to pray, to be calm. It gives me time to keep my grass mowed more often than every two weeks (sorry neighbors), and clean the litter more than once a week (sorry cats) and actually get some writing done (sorry to my mind and soul, which were about to burst open from being too full).

Contrary to what normal people think, writers are writing even when they don't have time to actually write it down, which causes our heads to fill beyond capacity, often leading to the above phenomenon.

Yes, I do have to work all summer, but summer school, being all online, is shockingly low maintenance. I check the program every 5-10 minutes, open tests when needed, grade assignments periodically, and spend the rest of the time doing writer-y stuff. I got 650 words written this week, which sounds like nearly none, but it was the first 650 words of a brand new Shalan novel, so it's kind of a big deal to me. I'm also trying out writing on a new program that's built specifically for novel construction and there's a bit of a learning curve, so I've spent as much time trying to figure out the actual process as I have writing. I don't know yet whether I like it. I'll let you know.

After summer school's over, I'll have a grand total of three weeks off. That sounds like a lot to people who don't teach, and, in reality, it is. But first, teaching is a high-stress job. If you aren't in need of time off at the end of the school year, I posit that you aren't doing it right. And second, I'll be prepping for the upcoming school year during that time off, for which I will be paid exactly no extra dollars. I'm not complaining. Teaching is my calling and I willingly do what needs to be done. If I weren't, I would know I'm ready to retire and move on to other ventures.

Yes, I like routine. I like having an alarm set every single day. I like having a groomed lawn and flowers in the flower bed and tomato plants that aren't covered in suckers and drooping to the ground. I like quiet time for reading, thinking, and praying. Some may call that boring, but I have always maintained that only boring people get bored. If you're bored, that's about you, not about having nothing to do.

So here's to (not being) boring!