{Kailarks}It's that time of the month...

You know, a new one? #mondayblogs

Nov 1, 2021

12 hours ago, I was just about to start the kickoff sprint for the 19th iteration of Nanowrimo that I’ve taken part in. The night before, I’d spent time reorganising my office (dining room), including masterfully hanging (it fell down) my whiteboard. I got a blog post out of that (you can never have enough support, though I don’t know when I’ll write it).

I was talking to one of my new friends while trying - rather desperately for once - to stay awake for Nanowrimo, and she said something really interesting, something I’ve expanded on, but want to share. Thanks Z.

This month is Nanowrimo - it’s the month of the year that led me to some of the most painful and most wonderful experiences I’ve ever had. I can’t say I wouldn’t have found GEAS without Nanowrimo, but it’s far less likely. Without GEAS, which is a gaming club in my home town, I’d never have met the former President of it’s alternate number at another university, who many of you will see me refer to as Tempus. No move in 2006, no Uni for me. No finding a piece of our soul.

For the 2003 version of me, all that is in potentia. The scrappy, up for anything single mother who had finally told her ex to stop, she was done, who volunteered on a whim to run meets. Little did I know how much it would change my life.

I always promise to write up ‘A Nanowrimo love story’ at some point, but there’s this fragile juxtaposition between 2003 me, dealing with a rather odd guy waking me at 4am (he’s a character, it’s not quite as bad as it sounds), who turned out to be my best friend in some ways and is back to talk to me for my 19th Nanowrimo, the 2008 me who had been recognised the year before, starting Uni, because I was in one of my Nanowrimo t-shirts and apparently, everyone knew who *I* was, to the 2013 me. Even the 20018 me. None of us had an *inkling* of what changes were coming our way. The peculiarity of being a writer though - of being aware of it is that I still remember how… all of them overlay.

Mostly though today, I want to celebrate the good in my world. Firstly to the Office of Letters and Light, and their last day of donations for double up donation weekend. Thank you, sincerely. If you’d like to support a charity, please do think about Nanowrimo. They’re more than November and 50k words in so many ways.

More importantly, thank you Tempus. We met 17 and a half years ago, more or less, and I’m just the luckiest woman in the world to know and live with such an amazing man. Thank you for - if not understanding, at least accepting - that this is my world and my reality. And helping me keep it right when it’s hard for me to do anything other than cry.

Roundup and plans for the month are coming later in the week - I lost a week somewhere and I’m all over the place this morning, but this was important.

Have a great week everyone - let me know what you’ve got planned.

(oh, some of this will be in Maximum Effort - that’s due today too).