Courtney S. Barr

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Join me, the Princess, on my Royal Adventures in the Land of Writing!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Whew moments...

Whew.

One word.
One expression.
One sound made when spoken.

But a whole mess of meaning can come from that word.

I say it right now for many reasons. The past week has been one of the weirdest. I have a house full of company for the next week (it began Thursday). I also express it for the way my feet feel after cooking most of the day (with a trip to the grocery store as well).

Then it also explains the fact that sitting right now on my couch with my laptop on my knees I feel better. I say it while my chest rises and falls. The air slips between my lips and a smile tugs at the corner of my mouth. My fingers are typing on the keyboard and it feels wonderful. I am sitting here with 5 other people in the room, I can hear the Nebraska/Kansas State game on the giant television, chatter is filling the room, a dog is playing with two little girls in my dining room but my mind, my heart is here on the screen.

That 'whew' wipes out everything around me and allows me a bit of needed solitude. Yes, solitude. Whether I am clicking away at a few blogs or looking up a word on dictionary.com or working on my manuscript or reading another writer's wonderful WIP - It always makes me grin how when my fingers are moving across the silver keys my breathing relaxes, my mind opens and I find myself learning so much.

It can't last forever though. Other things must be done, of course, due to the fact that sometimes I have to close the lid, sleep or eat, or shop or whatever, it makes me appreciate my "whew" moments even more.

So in a few clicks I will be uploading this post but you should know that my 'whew' will last a bit longer - I have a book to write so the next hour is all about my fingers as they listen to my characters and lead them to their destiny.

Before I go, I would love to know what is your best 'whew' activity? What is it that you like to do for those few moments of chaotic solitude? Do you read a magazine, text, blog, read a book? What do you do when the day has knocked you out but you still want to DO something? Even when there are people around, what do you do?

8 comments:

  1. I like to grab a book I KNOW will whisk me away somewhere in only a paragraph or two - the kind of book that blocks out everything else to the point that people have to say things to you 3 or 4 times before they can fully get your attention! :)

    If I don't have that kind of book handy (which of course we reader/writer people usually do) I'll pop in my ear buds and listen to christian music for a while. That always puts me in a good place.
    www.shannonkodonnell.blogspot.com

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  2. Shannon O' - Ahh! I know exactly what you mean. It might seem annoying to them that we don't respond immediately, but it means that we are engrossed in something wonderful! Thanks for stopping by the kingdom!

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  3. I keep checking my blog to see who commented and hope that the Southern Princess has updated her blog with some wonderful words of wisdom or a funny anecdote. If that doesn't work I play brick breaker for 5 min to completely escape

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  4. My biggest "whew" is what I call B&B (Book and a Bubblebath) But those are getting fewer and more far between as I creep ever closer to book deadlines, so I have to settle for my other "Whew:" scratching a warm kitty belly. I have one cat that I swear is 3 feet long when he stretches and when he's sleepy and you pet him he rolls out on his back and exposes about 2 feet of bunny soft tummy with a crackly purr. I swear I could rub that tummy all day. :)

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  5. Tracy - aww! I love you! I always love when you visit the virtual Kingdom & cannot wait to see you in person tomorrow! Brick breaker is fun too.

    Shannon M - the bubble bath sounds wonderful! I had cats growing up & I know what you mean about that feeling when they purr and stretch out...it is soothing.

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  6. I definitely feel better when I'm reading a good book. Sometimes going for a drive and cranking some good music too (current obsession: Glee soundtrack)!

    I passed along a little award/activity to you if you are interested in doing it too! Not sure how to leave links in comments, so if you go to my blog, it’s the “Honest Scrap” post. :)

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  7. I do what Shannon M does too... With my own kitties. There's nothing better than that soft belly fur and the vibrations of a purr.

    Or, I reread one of my favorite sections from my current WIP... the ones that made me tingle while I wrote them - you know the type, I'm sure!

    And apparently it's your day for awards! I also left a little something for you on my blog :-)

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  8. Thank you Sara!
    I miss having cats,but my dog sometimes thinks he is one. Especially on the lap lover perspective!

    :o)

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