True Crime or Real Life?

Christ on a cracker, what a week/month/decades!  These past 400 years of campaigns have confused and disheartened me to the point of delirious exhaustion. Words almost fail me, so take it away, Madeline Kahn.

But enough about politics- and I mean enough for the love of Gawd! I need a vacation from news pundits and screaming headlines and conspiracy theories, and cats and dogs, and weather, and Nazis and Teslas and social media and...fill in the blank.

I've noticed that's it's been years since I've blogged (yes, I know you didn't notice ) and I've only written press releases, content and grants and an occasional piece for the New York Times (my name is usually at the end of the article. Sigh.) But that ends now. 

As of November 5th, 2024 at 6pm ( that's when I started hiding under the covers) I am on a sabbatical from real life- except for binging on True Crime- which doesn't seem to upset me. I can't handle any confrontation in real life or in movies- except for real-life gory murders and kidnapping on TV. This does not make sense but neither does the world.

Don't judge me, I'm a fragile flower right now.

I need to return to the days when I was creative. I have a novel I need to finish that I started a month after my husband died in 2018. I have a short story about two modern-day witches that need to be completed and shopped around. Because I am a writer. A real one. I have three books out in the world that have been read by thousands of actual people. (I still get a check each month. Not enough to buy an espresso, but almost.) Articles I have written have been published not only locally, and nationally, but also internationally. (If you look me up you have to type in Candice Reed writer or you will get a racist schoolteacher from Riverside, so I've linked me. )

Besides writing I will be reading novels- I've already read a book this week (I read faster than I write) nothing hardcore, only nice stories set in France or Italy. Maybe some missing women novels because, you know, true(ish) crime. The novel I started on Wednesday and finished the next night was set in Paris, Germany, and Cape Cod. Yes!! It was historical fiction, but also kind of slutty. I'm not sure that's a genre, but it is in my mind.

I will also be watching more sunsets at the beach. I'm not great at driving at night (I'm old) but I can make it 8 miles on the freeway in the dark...kind of.

Old TV sitcoms will be my go-to shows instead of listening to political pundits blah, blah blah. My son has a PhD in politics and teaches at a college so if I need to ask questions I can call him. In Canada. But he isn't talking politics these days either. Except to his students. Seriously, we are all tired.

I'm going to call my friends more and write. I'm going to drink espresso and wine in bougie coffee shops and write. I will try and blog every few weeks hike in the mountains and play with my granddaughter. I'm going to date a little and try not to end up on Dateline or 20/20. I will breathe in and out and go to my new gym, walk, smile, and say hello to people. I will take naps and catch up on my sleep after the longest election season in the history of mankind. (That might not be a fact but I don't care. I am a retired journalist. Fake news is in.)

I'm going to do all of these things until January 20, 2025, when the new regime takes over. Then I will be back with snark, facts, memes, and new energy to do whatever I can to help keep my government accountable. But until then, I'm not going to think about it...