From time to time my writing takes a backseat to life. This is the case for my recent absence. After four years of searching, we found a mountain retreat. Trying to get things set up in our home away from home takes time. Learning to deal with a different set of wildlife will take even more time.

Other things popped up as well. We were finally able to get my dad’s house on the market after a lengthy probate. We are coming up on the one-year anniversary of his unexpected death. Anyone in the Central Florida region looking for a house with good bones, and with recent improvements of the big-ticket items such as a new roof and just needing a little love to make it your own can click here.

One of the biggest time commitments which caused the blogging to take a backseat to life was the planning of a Zonta International Area meeting. The meeting took place in Beautiful Cañon City and featured two wonderful women speaking on inner growth.

Cris Lindsay is known as the Happiness Coach. Her three breakout sessions keyed on the importance of balancing a hectic work-life and making time for yourself. Her interactive sessions provided many stress-reducing techniques.

Dr. Barbara Ann Jacques provided the keynote during the luncheon. The importance of time remained a key theme. She expanded with a self-evaluation using three Vs; vision, value, and vibration. Worksheets guided the participants through the process. The group of professional women were open to exploring the concept of utilizing time for oneself as a means to expand each ones impact on the world around us.

Throw in a dislike of a few of the recent books I’ve read, and the situation gets dire. The last two books I read were non-fiction and business related. The first was a guide to developing leaders and it was ok, just dry and made leaders seem self-centered. The second was an economics booked hailed on the back cover as the best theory since John Maynard Keynes tome The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money. It was not. My back cover blurb would have read: Utopian at best, veiled socialism/communism at worst.

An even greater problem was a deep freeze of 15 degrees just as the first asparagus popped up. No gardening pictures and few spring blooms. In fact, the mountain retreat has more daffodils in bloom than the homestead on the high plains. Not sure how that happened.

Fortunately for my writing, running the recent conference for 40 attendees was the finale to my two-year term. My organizational management skills were well used. Now it is time to polish the writing skills.