I've become One-dimensional. I didn't mean to. It just sort of happened.
I've thrown all my energies into writing, into educating myself on the craft of it, and into learning how to make a shy person as myself more of an extrovert.
I belong to two writing groups, which I love. I come back from those meetings buzzing with creative energy and so happy to have spent time with people who have become great friends.
But I want to spread my wings a bit and join one or two online communities that focus on something other than writing. The problem?
I have no idea what else I'm interested in. Pre-marriage, I traveled the backyard of the west with my 3 buddies, one tent, sleeping bags, a cooler, and money for gas. We hiked, we explored ghost towns, nearly rolled down a cliff, waterskiied and jetskiied when we found a lake and someone with a boat or a place to rent jetskis.
Nowadays, the thought of climbing a mountain makes me want to hurl myself off of one. And since I moved to Texas--camping in a tent in this heat? Not happening. All that camping fun drained out of me along with buckets of humidity when
ignorantly innocently enough I volunteered to be the camp director for the church 14-18 yr-old girls while I was pregnant. NEVER again. NEVER.
As for boating and skiing, I'd do that if I still had a boat or if there weren't alligators stalking Texas lakes.
Early marriage, I got hooked on those DIY home decorating shows and, yes, my house went through many, um, interesting transformations--some we will not speak about.
I did a few crafty workshops with church friends, but I mostly enjoyed the social aspect of working on a project together for a few hours while I speedily finished my ugly project because I knew I would NEVER finish it at home. And they rarely got hung up either because that cutesy crafty look isn't for me. My sister once said my interior reminds her of an old movie set from the mummy or something. Dark woods, old world style, not a cross-stitch sample in sight.
See my delimma?
What am I interested in at this stage of my life? It's a little disconcerting to really have no idea.
Okay, I do love ghosts. I've been fascinated with them since I saw one when I was eight. But that's a story for a separate blog post. And yes, being my one-dimensional self, I've written several things featuring ghosts. How could I not?
So I could join a group about ghosts maybe? Ghost-hunting? Know any good ones? I have no idea.
I also want to travel, so perhaps there are some great traveling communities I can get into?
Genealogy too. Not that I've done a lot of it, but I have done some and let me tell you, it is a time suck. I get going and hours fly by. I feel like a detective, finding lost souls and connecting them with the right family lines.
So help me out people. I'm determined to take this month and find an online group (outside of writing) that I can connect with.
Tell me about groups you belong to and interests you have so I can go check them out a find a place for me. Even if it doesn't seem like something I'd be interested in, I'd love to know more about you and things you enjoy. Who knows, maybe that will spark a long buried interest I've forgotten I had.
Post your groups here in the comments or on my
facebook page. I'll let you know how my search to become at least a two-dimensional person comes along throughout the month.