Stress!

I haven’t blogged in forever, it seems.

MegaCon went well, but then things have seemed to change abruptly. My wife, Karin, and I were both commenting on the suddeness of change. That and the fact that usually it’s only in extreme retrospect that one notices the major changes. September 11, 2001 nonwithstanding, usually you look back a number years later and say, “my, things sure have changed!” This year is different. I’ve even made a note in my calendar that says, “the month everything changed.”

Sad to say that MegaCon wasn’t what I’d hoped it would be. Not a slam on MegaCon per se, nor anyone associated with it. But while Friday February 24 was a pretty good day as convention Fridays go, both Saturday and Sunday were slow. I did meet a particularly good artist, Alecia Rodriguez and her husband Raphael on Saturday, as well as meeting Chuck Dixon on Sunday. But I could have done that just hanging out. I didn’t need to spend both days languishing behind a table to meet them…well, maybe.

But after coming home I noticed a definite change in things:

1) My daily schedule has changed. In times past I have had, for lack of a better term, gaps in my daily schedule. Often I would finish up with one job and then have time to kick back and think about it before proceeding to the next. Sometimes I even found time to clean my office, arrange files, or maybe write in my blog. Since the first of the year I’ve found less and less of that time. Quite frankly, I now end my days by saying, “it’s time to go home, leave it until tomorrow.” In times past I would not have left an inking brush uncleaned before heading home. I have now left my brushes uncleaned several times, simply because I am too busy to make sure they get washed.

2) More emphasis on Gypsy Bandwagon. This is not to say that I am abandoning my art. As noted above, I have had more work than ever this year. I have several pieces pending at all times. But the evenings are taken up with practices. Spare moments involve either listening to old tracks to refresh my memory, or working on new pieces for the band. I’ve spent more money on the band lately than I ever expected to, buying equipment, costumes, promotion materials, etc. The interesting thing is that it seems to be paying off. Gypsy Bandwagon is playing “the” gig in Asheville, NC this weekend. We have the Saint Patrick’s show at Jack of the Wood. Imagine my surprise.

Gypsy Bandwagon is becoming the topic of discussion everywhere I go. And it’s not always me that brings it up! The WNC meeting of the Southeast Chapter of the National Cartoonists Society was spent, in part, discussing my band and the upcoming show. I’m flattered and embarrassed at the same time. I didn’t mean for the meeting to go off in that direction. But the guys are very supportive.

3) Family changes. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to spend some time with my oldest brother while we were in Florida. We ended up going to the Melbourne Zoo and kayaking (Melbourne’s Zoo is the only zoo in the U.S. with on-site kayaking) around the place. Very fun, and a nice time with my brother. I also got to spend some time with my sister-in-law, just talking. In fact Karin and I spent a couple of extra hours talking on the morning we were leaving, and got back to North Carolina very late.

We hadn’t expected to see them again so soon. But my Aunt Audrey passed away last Wednesday, and the “Florida Lyles” came up to the funeral. Afterward my brother tagged along on a road trip I had to take to Tennessee to deliver a rush job I had taken on before realizing that my Aunt was as bad off as she was.

So just when we were all settling in to coping with Aunt Audrey passing, my Aunt Barbara passed this morning. The family will have to deal with that this week.

4) Changes in friend’s lives also challenge us more now than ever. In the past couple of weeks another big change has been brewing. A good friend, who’s been attending our church since childhood has a family that is being completely drawn into a well known cult. As a consequence, she is getting dumped on more than ever. Things have never been that good for her to begin with, but this cult thing has just given her family one more reason to make a “Cinderella” out of her.

When I say “Cinderella” I don’t mean the final state of that character. I mean the put-upon girl who is expected to do all the chores around the house and is ignored otherwise. I’d like to see her break away from the family and find her own place in the world. But she seems committed, at least for now, to trying to help her family get out of this situation.

Her decision to reject their cult has greatly strengthened her own true faith in Jesus Christ. I’m glad to see that.

5) Our favorite grocery store has gone out of business. For the past twenty years this particular grocery has been a part of my life. When Karin and I were first married and we moved back to North Carolina (18 years ago) we shopped there regularly. When we lived in Salisbury we shopped at the same chain. When we visit our friends in Charlotte we shop at the same chain.

But the local franchise shut down last week. It may not seem like a big thing, but it’s almost as if we’ve moved. There are two stores of the same chain that are still close, but now rather than being only four miles away, we’d have to drive twelve miles. So we’re trying to find a grocery that’s closer that still carries the sort of foods we have grown accustom to at prices that are similar. I’m not sure how that’s going.

Additionally our credit union is situated in the front of the old grocery. So all our banking now involves an additional side-trip. Whereas, in the past, we could go and make a deposit or withdrawal then walk to get our shopping done, we now have to make a stop along the way.

So these changes are resulting in some stress. I’m not as able to absorb the stresses as I once was. When Karin and I married I moved five times in one year. I’m pretty sure I couldn’t handle that now. We just got our Christmas tree down last week. There are still ornaments scattered around the living room floor, waiting to be properly packed away.

All this and I still managed to turn out two pieces last week. That may not seem like much to some, but I consider it a triumph.