Welcome back to Monday’s Mug. There have been a lot of changes in the world since we last talked. I am snuggled up with a cup of tea tonight, and it is chilly outside. I hope you will join me and I will get you some tea as well. Would you like honey or milk?

January was such a productive month for me. I completed a contest and was writing nearly every single day. I wasn’t always writing creative fiction, but I was getting morning pages done. By the time I came into February, I felt like I was no longer making progress in my writing through the use of morning pages. My book had been lying dormant for a while now, and I wanted to start editing it finally. However, even though I was given many suggestions from my writing community, I still felt like I needed downtime.

In February every year, I help with a non-profit to put on a banquet for single mothers on Valentine’s Day. It was a busy month with family events going on as well. I found there were a lot of moments I was thinking about writing, but then nothing was ever done about it. There was a spiritual blog I used to run, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready to start committing to another blog at this point. I had many discussions with my trusted advisors about it.

I was excited about March it has always been a month I have to enjoy because I love flowers. Yes, I love them. I don’t plant as many flowers as I used to, but they are something that brightens my day. I love Spring. It is my second favorite season. 

The writing, in March, was something else I was looking forward to. I was going to start writing on a new platform and publish daily. However, here I am a couple of weeks now into March, and I have been dealing with a lot of emotional family things. People are moving in and out of my life. My parents’ health hasn’t been greatest lately. In many ways, I have felt good, but dealing with these events has been difficult. 

Then my world was suddenly turned upside down in a matter of days here. I am sure many of you can say the same. I left work on Wednesday, and by the time I returned, the places in our community started shutting down. Schools and events were canceled. It was shocking, and to be honest, it filled me with anxiety, which I finally had felt like I was getting a handle on this year.

I have realized that my writing helped deal with the start of the year, and I was able to vent to a blank page when I couldn’t get out of my head. Do you feel like that too? Kind of stuck in your head at times?

Let’s get some more tea, and enjoy the slowness of things now.  

I have to say many good things are happening with this stay at home order. The pollution is down, and people are connecting. In my world, the company I work for allows us to work from home during this time. My house is cleaner than it has been in a while. I have lunch with my child every day. I have all my furry sidekicks by my side all day long. I am saving money on gas, and of course, I am not eating out. I am trying not to freak out, but there are moments in the day where I let the cabin fever get the better of me. I need to get back to the new normal. 

My goals for this week are to breathe and just write. 

Hang in there, writers.