It has been six months since I posted anything.

So much has changed in my life you wouldn’t believe it. You probably don’t actually care, but you are here and this is my blog, so here it is. As a professional geek, I made a ton of money when the covid thing hit in February and March. The world went nuts and I didn’t even have time to think. Everyone I knew seemed to be throwing money at me to add remote capabilities for their workforce.

But I saw the writing on the wall and talked to my wife about looking for more long-term projects. The short projects were going to dwindle and life was going to get hard if the virus was political, and it sure looked like it was. I ended up finding a project 1000km away from my family and I was gone in June.

Since then, I have been home for the long weekends, but other than that I am basically in front of a computer 80+ hours a week, every week. I am supposed to get Sundays off, but that hasn’t happened since August. In September I became a grandfather for the first time. In November I had my first granddaughter. I have only seen Beau a few times and won’t actually meet Princess Sonny until I get home for Christmas (that is not her real name but since when has that stopped me from calling Cydnee “Porkchop”). I spend an hour almost every night on a video call with my wife and any kid I can convince to say hi to me. I don’t think they miss me as much as I miss them.

It turns out that I miss you all, and I actually miss writing. Not because I haven’t been writing, but because I haven’t been writing as much as I want to, or blogging at all in 6 months at 11 days. I have written a couple books, but for the most part, I have poured the last year of my life into learning about the publishing business so I can finally take my words and put them to paper that other people can purchase. As of December 1, 2020, I will be a professional writer.

I guess if you define a ‘professional’ as someone who gets paid for their craft, I suppose I already am a professional writer because people gave me $600 on Kickstarter to publish a poetry book. I think it will be different to actually have someone purchase a book online and get it delivered. And now I am sitting here wondering if it will feel different to sell a paperback book over an e-book. I don’t know yet. They actually gave me over $500 for a children’s book as well. That one is kinda exciting too.

I just wanted to take a few minutes lying in bed tonight, 1000 km away from my family, to say hi and let you all know how much I have missed the blog.

I have contemplated starting another blog about writing alone. I mean, that was the whole goal in 2013, to focus a blog on one detailed topic. We all know how that turned out. And now I have a blog about anything and everything. I have always been very pleased with the content and the name, A2Z with ADHD. It just made sense to me and I owned it. So adding a bunch of stuff here about writing would kinda go hand in hand with what I have always done.

Except this blog has been a whole lot of fun and therapy for me. I am very pleased that so many people read my stuff and comment. But this writing is more than just enjoying some healing. The books, stories, poetry, songs… they are different because I am thinking about making a living off them… making the writing the income that supports my family. This is going to be a rough journey and while it fits with my ADHD topic, I kinda want it to be more professional.

If I want to speak to other writers about my journey, if I want to treat readers with my writing life, am I doing those groups a disservice by constantly adding blog posts about McDonald’s Cinnamon Melts?

In my writing world, I imagine I will be just as brutally honest as I am in here, but I hope I will be nicer. In here, if you cross me, I don’t hold back on the criticism. If you cross my children or do or say something to adversely affect those who I am tasked with guiding, protecting, and providing for? Well, you will get more than criticism.

I am going to have to sleep on this, I know it is a huge decision. It has prevented me from posting anything here for the past few months. But I have a couple weeks left until my book is published, so there is no pressure. Nothing I am not used to at any rate.