A couple of days in a row (Tuesday and Wednesday), we had storms. On both occasions, the power has flickered but hasn’t gone out. One thing I’ve learned, however, is the bad weather a couple of weeks ago definitely had an impact on my dogs. When the sky gets dark and there’s thunder, they all have strong reactions. This didn’t used to be the case, and I feel sad for them. I try to distract them, let them be where they feel safest, and I talk to them (which I do all the time anyway) in my normal conversational voice.
Meanwhile, I am not writing, but I think what I’m doing is probably good for me as a writer. As I predicted might happen, after reading the first couple of TJB books, in between dog management, cleaning up after dogs in the backyard, and doing housekeeping, I’ve kept going and read numbers three and four of TJB’s books.
I’ve wondered sometimes about things we might have missed the mark on, plus there’s so much I’ve forgotten and wondered how I’d react to all of it. Every time I stopped, instead of the things I feared, I was caught up in the stories and only wanted to keep reading. Time and distance have been friendly, and I need to remember this when I’m being hypercritical of my new writing. Trust the process and trust that eventually, there will be early readers who’ll give me feedback before I hit “publish” on anything.
Looking forward to reading number five, the last of the TJB books.
Thunder (and fireworks) always terrified Scruffy, as they did my old dog Pip. However, he’s gotten deaf with age and this has turned out to be a blessing – at least, in this regard! I hope the storms abate and your dogs can relax.
I always feel bereft when I come to the end of When You Don’t See Me. We need more TJB!
I’ll pass that request along. =)
Poor Scruff. Margot was also terrified of storms, though when we moved from The Compound to Houndstooth Hall, less so. I thought maybe she, too, was losing her hearing, then I think I figured it out. The old house (built in the 1920s) is pier and beam, with old windows that rattle during a storm. The “new” house (built in 1960) is on a concrete slab, with better fitting windows. I think not having a house and windows that shook with thunder and wind was the reason she stopped being afraid.