thinly stretched

Those of you who have been following this blog since its inception have probably noticed that my postings have plummeted lately, both in frequency and quality. Part of that decline is due to my swiftly approaching trip to Ireland, of course. But there's another factor contributing to the literary desert that Blue Wail has become over the past couple of weeks, one that my tired and burnt-out brain has only recently assembled (sans directions) in the dimly lit garage of my consciousness.

This blog began as a vehicle for me to write about living - and therefore, spending long stretches of time - alone. The ups, the downs, the round and rounds. The problem is: lately, I haven't really been alone. Not that much, anyway. It's a wonderful thing that my social calendar has been so chock-a-block, I guess. All I have to do is glance through last month's postings to see how eager for companionship I was in the none-too-distant past. And I certainly don't regret the time I've spent lately with friends, old and new. Honestly. It's been lovely.

Still, though...

I feel a bit like Goldilocks - for a while, I complained that my social life was too cold. Now I'm griping that it's too hot - at least for a self-proclaimed hermit-by-choice. In my defense, though, I work six days per week (well, ok, one of them is a half-day. But any day I have to haul my guitar around and sing "Daisy Bell" at all counts as a work day in my book, thank-you very much), and the one remaining day I have to myself has to get me through the next six, each and every week.

Trying to see my friends and family occasionally, going on the odd date, and getting done all the time-consuming little errands that always seem to need doing (note to self: look into getting a valet immediately) AND making a little time for solitary Arboretum-rambling, book-shop browsing, and otherwise decompressing, all in the few and precious hours that are left over, is proving a Sisyphean task.

I mean, honestly, something's gotta give, and soon.

Because I'm wiped out.