My friend Madeleine saw me the other night and mentioned I’d been really quiet on LJ. She’s right; I hadn’t noticed. So here’s what my last few months have been like.

In May/June, I accidentally got myself _way_ overcommitted to things. I was traveling for 51 of 65 days, which should have been a warning right there. I had too many deadlines and not enough time. I felt overworked and drained.

This feeling persisted into late June, and peaked in early July. I was extremely cranky and angry almost every day, resenting life and the world. Too. Much. Stuff. Everyone kept telling me I needed a break, and some time away from things; it seemed to me that I had no time for such a break because when would I do All The Things?

Of course, as is typical in these cases, everyone else was right and I was wrong. I did need a break. (Why is that so hard to recognize when you’re in the middle of things?) So I took a week off in mid-July and watched some stupid TV and went for walks and so forth. Man, did I feel better.

August has been delightful. I’m remembering that I _do_ like little things like sunshine and chirping birds. And I’m getting about the same amount done after my break as I did when I was pushing hard earlier. The quality is similar, but my mental state is 1000 times better and I no longer want to start shouting at people.

So for those of you who saw me in the grumpy times… thanks for being patient. And I’m feeling much better now! 🙂