The last of the rolling changes has arrived. The college class that has consumed much of my attention the last 8 weeks (and the classes I’ve taken since April) is done. I took the oral final yesterday morning. This afternoon is a short timed-test online, the final assignment. A bit of celebration tonight to mark the end of the class. If all goes well, my certification renewal will go smoothly, then I won’t need to think about CEU’s for another 7 years.
Also worth celebrating is the release of Mother Nature’s furious, scorching summer grip on Arizona. We joke that, “Fall happened on a Thursday this year.” It’s unusual for this area to have a weather transition lasting longer than a day or three, either from summer to winter or winter to summer. Someday, I’ll live in a place that has 4 seasons, where I can use a “coat closet” for various outdoor gear. This year, 110 degree days stayed through the first 10 days of October. I comment, “I want to wear a sweatshirt on Halloween.” That hasn’t happened in 2 or 3 decades. Today it’s still over 100. By next Wednesday, the high is predicted to be in the mid-80s, lows in the 60’s (if it doesn’t change by then). That is fall weather in the desert Southwest.
The writing challenge is on. I’m surprised that the traditionally published authors participating have logged fewer words than me. Perhaps once they get going, they’ll surpass my word count. My writing seems a little fuzzy. I’ve been away from it, or done such little bits over the last 5 months, that it feels like a new activity. I’m not concerned with the writing challenge. I don’t qualify for any of the prizes. The last few years I’ve worked on the process being the prize. My achievement-minded self hasn’t fully bought into that concept. But it does like to fill the last few pages in the handful of spiral notebooks I’ve used for other projects. I’m curious to see how many words I can write for this challenge, and how close to finishing the holiday novella I can get by October 31. Might be worth another celebration. What motivates you to accomplish a challenge?
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