My Cabin at Highlights

I went into the woods because a house pulls on your brain. It demands things of you. It wants you to use its kitchen, then clean it up. It wants you to use its bathroom, then clean it up. It wants you to dust and vacuum, to sort and put away. It is a demanding creature and I don’t think I can ever satisfy it. So every now and then… I leave it.

When I can, I leave it for the hills of Pennsylvania, where a quiet cabin awaits me. The cabin is giving and forgiving, it wants nothing in return. Down the hill from my cabin is a staffed kitchen full of smiling folks who cook and clean. They are better than House Elves. Because of them, I do not have to look at dirty pots and pans. I do not have to think about meal preparation. All I have to think about is what I want to think about, which is writing.

For me, this is true freedom. Each time I come here, I leave with well written chapters and renewed energy for writing. I leave with new ideas and refurbished old ones. But while a cabin can offer you escape, and freedom, it cannot love you. Which is Why I Always Go Back Home to the demanding house that holds dust and dirty dishes… family and love.

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I wrote the above while attending the Highlights Unworkshop in October of 2012, intending to post it as soon as I got

Who knew so much could happen at such a tiny desk.

home. But one thing after another distracted me. And now, as I work on a novel I was contracted to write since returning home from that unworkshop, I am wishing for the focus that being away brings!

The sink is full of dirty dishes. The laundry waits impatiently. But I am writing anyway today. And I am happy. Whether at home, or away from it all, I hope you are too.

Nerdy Chick interviews return next week!