Dailies: Longest Drive

This November a strange zeal took hold of me. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that we are working through Julia Cameron's Artist's Way in a small group we started. The previous time I did that, my life took a whole new direction, which to me now, reviewing the seven years since, seem to have been the most chaotic, most demanding and most creatively alive years of my life.

Two days prior to November 1, I stumbled upon a website, http://www.nanowrimo.org of The Office of Letters and Light, who has, since 1999, declared November to be National Novel Writing Month. A challenge is then made and roughly 300 000 people worldwide sign up for this crazy venture - to write a novel of 50 000 words during the month of November.

I have one and a half days and 2600 words to go.

In South Africa, November is the crazy month when everything has to be fitted in before the summer holidays. School exams are written, year-end parties happen while work deadlines loom, Christmas Craft markets abound and people are generally exhausted and on the brink of collapse. December cannot come soon enough and when it does, whole inland cities run empty, the human tide subsiding to the North and South Coast, the mountains, the Lowveld and the Kruger, the Eastern and Western Cape, The West Coast.

To then feel totally convinced that it is the right thing for me to take on the challenge of writing a novel in this crazy month, while
- my youngest is writing his final school exams;
- I was planning on having my own Christmas Market at the studio (currently running);
- I have all my usual obligations with the Women's Agricultural Union and
- we had committed to writing a daily blog post for the Restory
seemed somewhat irrational.

I reckoned that I had nothing to lose should I not make it. I could always just quietly drop out. But, I am a Four on the Enneagram with a rather obstinate Three wing (See the Enneagram tab if this sounds Greek to you) and a challenge is not taken lightly.

A couple of days into the challenge, and writing away merrily, I received a commission for a sculpture. To be delivered on the 28th of November and to be presented as a trophy for the Celebrities Challenge Golf Day at the Zwartkop Country Club. It was to be awarded to the golfer with the longest drive.

Also, it was a very challenging commission; that of another bull, similar to the sculpture I made to represent the Eight on the Enneagram for the Grahamstown Festival exhibition earlier this year.

I took on the challenge, again not because I felt obliged, but because it felt like the thing to do right now.

It has been a hectic month. I'm working 12 hour days, logging time for each of  "departments". I make ceramic stock, pickle and bottle huge amounts of produce from Leon's farm in White River, mix my miracle creams and natural bath salts, fairy flower herb tea, package and label everything to be all Christmassy and gifty.

I have to be honest: marketing didn't happen much. So I have stock and an open week, but not many feet coming this way. Yet again, it felt like that was what I had to do for now.

The bull was delivered on the 27th. My client is very satisfied and the golfer who won the longest drive, is very appreciative of his one of a kind art work.

I had to put aside the whole of today to take my father to the State Academic hospital for a check-up  and gastroscopy. It is an experience that can only be described as humbling. The hospital handles literally thousands of financially challenged patients each day. It takes many hours of exercising patience in the very many steps of the process of getting to the front of the many queues.The results of his test shows that everything we worried about seemed to have cleared up and he is as fit as a fiddle. We needn't be back there unless something new crops up.

In the light of the month I'm having, I considered postponing the appointment to early next year. But I would then have been left with a nagging worry about his health. I'm glad we went. It was the right thing for now.

Tomorrow this month will end. I have done more than I could ever have thought possible in the scope of it. I acted again and again on a voice that confounded reason.

I thought I'd let you know: I'm rather proud of me.

Matilda