Retreat!

I have been long overdue for a retreat.  Not like the Mom’s Evacuation (as William called it) I participated in several months ago.  An actual, solitary (as much as possible), non-social, unplugged from my life RETREAT.  Fortunately, our family has been deeply blessed by a loving, supportive friendship with KitMama and her family, and she agreed to take me in for a week or so while I decompress and get a little R&R.  They also happen to live in a lovely house, on a lovely piece of property, with a lovely private lake.  What more could a girl ask for?

View from the wrap-around porch

So, yesterday David and the boys drove me up to Kit’s place and left me with naught more than a small suitcase and a large bag of books (I pack light).  Since I’ve spent time here before and am familiar with the house, it wasn’t long before I settled into my own private little cubby upstairs.

Temporary home

It doesn’t look like much, and I was offered one of the larger beds in the guestroom, but this little nook is just so cozy and secluded-feeling, I decided if I had much of a chance of sleeping at all, this would be the place.  The family pretty much resides downstairs, so there’s little noise or traffic.  Besides, it’s only about three steps from the bulk of the family library, which, of course, I have availed myself of.

Books!

So, what did I do with my first full day of Retreat? A little of this. A little of that. Puttered around helping with the kitchen and laundry. And edited.

Yep, I am actually helping a friend with her first novel (which will be the first book of a planned trilogy). Originally, I simply offered to proofread it for her to get some experience. I’d been thinking of getting into proofreading as a part-time work-at-home gig to supplement our family income. But, I needed to get some experience under my belt before demanding payment for my services. And, Christen just happened to be working on her novel at that time. How serendipitous!

Well, as time progressed, somehow our working relationship developed into more of an author/editor thing than an author/proofreader thing. Which seems to be perfectly lovely for both of us. We had our first official “meeting” on Monday. We went over a whole host of “issues”, brainstormed on creative solutions, compared notes on our mutual experience of the story and characters, and generally were very productive. We both took copious notes, then broke in the evening to head off in our own directions with own lists of “to do’s”.

So, one of the only two “responsibilities” I brought with me on Retreat was Christen’s book.




Editing from the kitchen table

I’m a little nervous, but mostly very excited about being part of this project.

I’ll keep you all posted on our progress…