Why Am I Not Writing?

I think I am the only person who has noticed that it has been over 2 weeks since I posted anything. I have really missed writing – it is one of my most relaxing and fun things to do.

I am totally overcommitted right now. Here is what is happening in my life right now:
– I am working hard at the Census Bureau on things with real deadlines, as opposed to 2 months ago when I could actually write in my BLOG while I was at work because I didn’t have anything pressing. The enormity of this processing job – 3 million households a year forever – with my little staff of 6 is starting to scare me!
– I am playing serious music with 2 people – both double bass players. This means I try to practice an hour a day. That is hard to fit in.
– I am preparing for a Bat Mitzvah on July 9. This entails chanting 8 verses from the Torah – Numbers 20:22-29 – and chanting the Haftarah portion – Judges 11:1-11. This shouldn’t be a big deal because nobody comes to services in the summer. But it is my first time to do this and it is an incredible amount of work to learn all the necessary tunes for the various trope markings. This takes about 20 minutes a day.
– I am dealing with Santiago’s plight in the public schools again. I did force the issue of testing this child. He obviously cannot read, just as we knew 2 months ago. The school doesn’t seem to be taking a lot of responsibility for dealing with his particular problems. So I am planning to organize some tutoring over the summer to see if we can’t get him to the point where he can decode words. I would also like to take him to the hispanic learning specialist I had identified earlier.
– I am still attempting to exercise every morning and I now seem to have enough exercises to fill about 40 minutes. With each pilates class, the list of exercises grows.
– I am in charge of opening and closing the space where I meditate 3 times a week – Monday and Friday AM and Wednesday PM. This means that I have to show up.
– I just started psychotherapy with a new person. I see her once a week and she is located in NW Washington.
– I still need to sleep at least 7 hours a night.

So this is why I simply haven’t had time to write. Here are the topics I have thought about writing something on:
– My weekend workshop on aromatherapy with Mikael Zayat, a Canadian alchemist whose family has made essential oils for centuries, coming from Egypt originally.
– Singing for Teddy’s 20th anniversary service.
– Our marathon wedding weekend, where we went to a 5 PM Saturday wedding in DC and an 11 AM Sunday wedding on a lake north of Detroit, Michigan, with very little sleep in between.
– David’s increasingly crazy family.
– The tragedy of growing old and deaf, as my mother-in-law is.
– My first session with Kathryn, my new therapist.
– Saying goodbye to Gordon as he goes off to the New Mexico desert for 6 months.
– Looking forward to a visit from Chuck Prins, whom I haven’t seen in 30 years.
– My wonderful pilates teacher Chris Mahle.
– Trying to figure out why I never hear from Freddie Lee, Mollie, Ina, Guerry, Barbara Paul, or any of a number of other people.

I have to find a way to reclaim my writing time. It’s one of the few ways I have of staying in touch with myself. I think things will be less pressured after July 9. But who knows for sure?