Oasis

by Sue Boltz


I sit down to write this blog, my husband calls to me. 

"Honey, I'm leaving now." 

How sweet. He's giving me time to write by leaving the house. He'll be gone about an hour, and in that time I should be able to produce something worth reading about the St. David's Christian Writers Conference.

But I hear a knock at the back door. It is four of the six boys from the family that lives next door. They want to borrow our air pump for bike tires. These guys shoveled our driveway for us this winter—the worst winter in more than a decade. They are amazing, and I cannot do enough for them, so I skip out to the garage for the pump.

Back at my computer, I gather my thoughts, and the phone rings. It's Mom. She's turning 80 this year and decided that I should take over some of her financial work. Her memory is not as good as it used to be, so sometimes she calls about something that I already told her I took care of. It takes a while to reassure and calm her. 

Ah, the blog. Now, it's the doorbell at the front door. AT&T wants me to buy U-verse. Not today, thank you very much.

I need a break and a drink of water.  Where was I?  Oh yes, St. David's.   

I go every year to this four-day conference the third week in June. It's a place where I can immerse myself in writing. The workshops get my creative juices flowing, and new ideas form. My goals become clear, and I write. I know I can take workshops and classes on-line, but it wouldn't be as good. This conference is an oasis of sweet concentration.

Like-minded and talented people catch me on fire in face-to-face dialogue. Critiques show me my weaknesses and make me stronger. Writing is solitary, but at the conference there is strength in numbers. I've made friends there who will look things over in a manuscript before I send them to an editor. That way, I'm not embarrassed by obvious typos and errors that I can't see, even though, I've read it out loud and meticulously proofread several times. I gratefully do the same for them. After returning home, the drive and passion continue. It's easier to write and keep writing no matter the distractions.

And now, here comes my husband home from the store.

 

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Sue Boltz is a longtime friend of St. Davids and is also a member of its board of directors.