i can feel my feet starting to drag as i approach the end of this
. it reminds me of my short-lived tenure on the high school cross-country running team, where i only participated in a handful of races before ultimately dropping off the team (but not because i was the “quitter,” mind you! my dad thought i had too many things on my plate between violin lessons, school, cross country and cheerleading practice, and told me i would have to quit one of the latter two. ultimately i chose to stay on the cheerleading squad because i wanted to hang out with the popular kids and have access to the sidelines at football and basketball games.)as was the case during cross-country races, i am noticing my fatigue - which often takes the form of writer’s block in this challenge - more acutely the closer i get to the finish line. on that last leg of the 5k there usually came a point when it’d be blatantly silly to give up on the race, and it was precisely at that same moment when i was most tempted to slack off. the symptoms of my exercise-induced asthma would flare up during the last quarter mile or so, or else side stitches or shin splits would invariably rear their heads. the last inches of the race then became a test of endurance, my ability to focus my teenage mind on something else until i’d barely noticed that i had already finished the race.
on days like this - in the final writing stretch, feeling especially tired and writer’s blocky and generally uninspired by life - i tell myself to zoom in very closely on the details of anything which catches my attention and see if it sparks an idea for me to write about. today, the only thing which caught my attention was this hedge at the local community garden whose leaves reminded me of parsley. do you see it too?
the final stretch
💜 You're not alone! Even though I'm hosting this thing, I'm not immune to it.
It's also why the majority of my posts between 90 and 100 are/will be about the same thing, the creative archetypes, it requires a little less emotional "effort" (and juggling 6 other self-chosen projects doesn't help me either 😉).
I’m so proud of you! And I’m gonna miss these!