Five Things - August 26, 2024

Welcome to my blog titled ‘Five Things’ where you can expect just that - five random musings or reflections from the previous week or so. For a photo gallery of our life on the road, our pets, and miscellaneous things I find interesting, you can also follow me on Instagram @tabithalord.

So here are this week’s five things…

1. I can’t believe we’re wrapping up our last few days in Rhode Island! Next week, we’ll hit the road again and head to Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi to finish our tour of the eastern United States. We’ll also be stopping in South Carolina for a long weekend to visit family before starting our trek back west. Our intent is to stay at each spot for about a week so I have time for school and Ray has time to work.

2. Yes, school is back in session this week, and I’ll admit, I’m slightly intimidated by the size of the reading list and the amount of required writing, but I do love deadlines, so I’m ready to dive in!

3. As the summer winds down, and I have to get serious about school, I also need to get serious about my physical health. It’s great fun when life feels like a party every day, but I’m not a spring chicken anymore. I have a lot of work to do this fall and I need better sleep, so I’m implementing my plan for ‘dry September’ a week early. I’ll be the one drinking herbal tea on my Zoom meetings, LOL.

4. Ray and I got to see Zac Brown and Kenny Chesney at Gillette Stadium this past weekend. While I am not generally a huge country fan, Zac is one of my favorites along with Chris Stapleton, who we got to see in Denver last year. Aside from expanding my musical palette so to speak, I use these country music concert opportunities to showcase my amazing collection of cowboy boots!

5. “Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.” — G. Randolf

Five Things - July 2, 2024

Welcome to my blog titled “Five Things” where you can expect just that - five random musings or reflections from the previous week or so. For a photo gallery of our life on the road, our pets, and miscellaneous things I find interesting, you can also follow me on Instagram @tabithalord.

So here are this week’s five things…

1. You may have noticed you’re receiving this on a Tuesday instead of Monday. It's been more and more challenging for me to get my Monday blogs up on time due to my school schedule and the fact that Monday’s are often travel days for us. With that in mind, I’m experimenting with posting on Tuesdays as the third quarter of 2024 begins. We’ll see how it goes!

2. Speaking of school, the summer session is in full swing! We’re currently in our reading period for Fundamentals of Genre Fiction, meeting weekly for the Common Read, and by residency, I’ll have finished drafting a short story to workshop. I’ve written and sold many short stories over the years, but working without a specific prompt or theme had me pretty stressed out! Fortunately, I spent Dallas Fan Expo with two of my best writing pals, and I talked through an idea with them until it felt solid enough to run with. Writing is often a solitary endeavor, but the experience of being a writer isn’t. Having a supportive community of creative friends and colleagues makes all the difference.

3. Ray and I are finishing our official tour of New England, and we’ll be in Rhode Island for the rest of the summer by next week. While we’ve both spent plenty of time in each of these states, our rule is that we have to spend the night in the RV in order to put the corresponding sticker on our map, hence the whirlwind, slightly exhausting tour of the Northeast!

4. July 1st marked the first day of the second half of 2024. At the midpoint of the year, I make it a habit to review what I’ve accomplished and what I still have on my professional to-do list. Just as importantly, I try to assess my personal health and well-being. At the moment, I have a nasty cold, so my head is a little foggy, but I’ll be spending time this week reflecting, course-correcting, and prioritizing for the second half of the year. It’s a solid practice, and one I highly recommend!

5. “May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right.” — Peter Marshall

Monday Musings 9-6-21

September is here! The summer certainly flew by in a whirlwind of parties, graduations, barbecues, book events, and travel. I feel like I’m sliding into home plate with skinned knees, frazzled hair, and otherwise looking pretty worn around the edges. While I’m thrilled we were able to see family and friends, celebrate milestones, and get back into the world, I’m looking forward to the routine of fall.

We only have one child at home, and going back-to-school isn’t the event it used to be, but things still shift for me in September. Maybe it’s because I worked in education for so long, and I’m driven more by the school calendar than by the yearly calendar, that fall feels like a new year.

I take stock, organize my project schedules, and set writing targets. I’m excited to wake up in the morning. I’m focused. I’m productive. I’m in my groove. In fact, September and October are probably my most creative and generative months, so I’ve learned to plan my schedule accordingly. And, in the interest of accountability, I write it all down the same as I do in January.

So, what will I be up to this fall?

• I’ll be digging in to developmental edits with my agent for Dreamwalker. You may remember that I worked until just about midnight on December 31st to make sure this draft didn’t drag into the New Year! I’ve done a little work on it since, but now it’s time to buckle down and get it done.

• In addition, I’m working on some Maggie Clare projects. I hope to finish off the Tactical Solutions International romantic suspense series by Spring of 2022. To keep that schedule, I need to complete the next book this fall.

• I’ve been working with a friend on a charming, magical middle grade book. I’ve finished the draft and a solid round of edits, and she’s pitching it to agents as we speak. Depending on the outcome, I may sign on to write more in the series.

• I’m still working for Inkitt as the Managing Editor for the Writer’s Blog. I’ve also been writing articles for their main webpage, and producing a steady stream of blog posts profiling their employees and successful authors.

• Book Club Babble continues to trot along, and I’ve got a line up of really amazing books to read and review for the fall.

I’m notorious for over-scheduling my work life, but I have to take advantage of my renewed energy in the fall, so, wish me luck. I’ll let you know how it goes!

In other news…

Today is our wedding anniversary! Ray and I have been married for 28 years, and I can’t begin to express how grateful I am for the life we’ve created together.

Monday Musings 7-27-20

As I get older, my exercise routine not only builds my strength, it maintains my body’s flexibility. A bridge is designed to be flexible in strong winds - it sways so it doesn’t break. A flexible work schedule is often coveted by employees.

Flexibility, in general, is a positive quality. In this uncertain world, where it feels like the goal posts are moving minute to minute, the ability to think creatively, with innovation, and without fear will impact our experience and our ability to act effectively.

I’ve been spending many hours working with a team of educators envisioning how to bring children and adults safely back to school this fall. The collective positive energy of the group, and our ability to think flexibly, is helping us design a program that surpasses the recommended health and safety standards, yet still keeps the children’s experience at the center of our planning. We are required to consider multiple scenarios, and must design protocols to transition between these scenarios. Not an easy task, but as the plans come together, one of the most important qualities that keeps us moving forward is our flexible thinking.

With the current state of the world, It’s tempting to throw our hands up and give in to fear and frustration. But if we do, we’ll be stuck in that space, at least in our own heads. To a degree, flexibility is a mindset, and when we can embrace it, we may feel better about our reality. Things may be different, but we can find a way. Things may be complex, but we can find solutions.

“Blessed are the flexible for they will not allow themselves to become bent out of shape!” – Robert Ludlum

Monday Musing 5-18-20

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that I often get focused on a particular word, either because it’s literary sounding and interesting, or because I can reflect on its deeper meaning. This week, the word is resilience.

In my role as Board President for an independent school, I’m working on a Covid-19 response plan to be ready to safely open our school as soon as possible, and to create contingency plans for the various scenarios we may have to face in this strange new world. In the course of this work, I’ve been privileged to communicate and collaborate with heads of school all over the world. Their innovative thinking, devotion to the health and safety of the children, and thoughtful approach is inspiring and gives me confidence that we will find a way through this world-altering event.

Every one of the educators I’ve spoken with - who are either working with distance learning plans, or, in the case of the European schools, trying to bring children back to campus - have said how resilient the students have been. My colleagues have shown exceptional resiliency and dedication. I see this resiliency in my own children, in the way they have found joy, camaraderie, and innovation in maintaining relationships, supporting their friends, and tackling their school work. I’ve found this resiliency in my group of friends and in my creative community.

Nothing is as it was, and it may not be for a while. But, I am encouraged when I’m able to usefully participate in finding a new path forward. We humans are resilient creatures, we’re creative, and we still have each other to rely on.

“Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it's less good than the one you had before. You can fight it, you can do nothing but scream about what you've lost, or you can accept that and try to put together something that's good.” ― Elizabeth Edwards