Today, the first full day back to Joe being gone, vacation being over, and back to my month of work routine, as Joe left mid-afternoon yesterday.

As much as I love Joe and of course vacation…even when they consist sometimes of “getting things done”. And I miss him the second he walks out the door and leaves a sudden deafening silence. I still always begin looking to work the last few days.

So, when I am on my vacation two weeks I have been turning off the news (not always consistently) and I certainly don’t spend my time past reading it (which I do in hard copy-stay off the computer). And since my work involves the news, that can be a hard thing to do. It took a good two years out of three to get there. And still not quite, but better.

I also catch up on reading…now reading for me isn’t fantasy (not totally my thing anyway but I don’t knock all of it) and it isn’t always fiction. I always read one fiction a month at least, however. In one novel and more in short stories. I write fiction as one of the 36,000 projects in a year I do so it is also sort of a must. I also escape in it, enjoy it…and sadly have to be careful not always to read fiction as a writer (I underline and mark the hell out of my books unless they are special edition). II do enjoy fiction that makes me stretch my mind. ’ll say my fiction in the past year has been along the lines of Amy Tan’s The Valley of Amazement (one day I hope to write so well), Life of Pi (I had seen the movie about a dozen times and it never gets old, I finally read the book and wowwowwow), Paris by Edward Rutherfurd (I actually hope to try another of his and see if they aren’t too much alike and then perhaps continue on in his line), The Girls from Corona Del Mar by Author Rufi Thorpe, among many others in fiction. Aside form always having a fiction book in hand (or short stories) I always have no less than one political book in hand the past years, and with politics comes a LOT of articles and whatnot from online and nook, and of course world happenings fall into that as well. I’ve always been a history buff and have been guiding my history reading in particular categories and direction lately, this is from on-line to many books. And Then my memoirs. A. I can’t get enough of them, B. I write them so I read them. C. They are what began me. So there are a lot of those in both essay and book form…Half in Love, Bad Feminist (and others), On The Road, Amy Tan’s latest, in Other Words, and many many others. And some biography reads as well from time to time- especially in history.

The reading is endless. I calm myself with some, rev myself up with others, console my soul, hide away, or dive right into reality head first. All of it I crave. So during vacation I am often catching up..or even just relaxing.

Work itself that takes more than reading are emails and a few touches and a daily write project as well as usually some on-going essay works or piecing together the latest book or project. Always is there seeking. But taking a step back really helps…the writing is fluid, free, calm. And with pen more than keyboard. With no set direction but an intense hunger none the less.

But that first sip of coffee in the first morning of my month back to work…sit down after a morning walk, meditation, yoga, breakfast, and my home is in order and not a distraction…No music, just the open windows and the birds. That moment find an energy unlike any other.

To be in work the I crave so strongly is pure joy. I have no doubt that it will last.