One of the most annoying things a creative can deal with is when real life butts in and takes over.
That’s where I’m at right now.
My grandfather on my mother’s side passed away last night. He was 88. He was also a two-time heart attack survivor, a stroke survivor, a diabetic, an Army vet, an avid golfer, and a far more complicated man than most wanted to admit. He loved me and treated me as well as he knew how, but he also loved using the N word and ordering my grandmother around.
He had been in the hospital twice over the past month for various ailments, but he seemed to have been on the mend before we got that fateful call (in the closing laps of the NASCAR race at Bristol). It’s both a shock and not surprising at all, and I find the entire coming week upended. In the grief of losing a loved one, I find myself trying to square things away at my job before hitting the road.
All things considered, I’m lucky that I still have grandparents in my life at age 41. But that age also brings with it the sobering realization that my body is not what it once was; specifically, the fact that my 41st birthday brought with it a diabetes diagnosis (just what I always wanted…). The physical symptoms I began exhibiting over the summer, that had sapped me of my focus and creative energy, turned out to be exactly what I thought they were.
So now much of my non-work time is spent dealing with doctors who are urgent for me to do something now (even to the point where they prescribed medication I didn’t want without consulting with me first), a pharmacy that takes its sweet time filling the prescriptions I do want, and health insurance that doesn’t pay quite as much as it should for everything.
This is the part of adulting I could do without.
The only good thing going in my life right now–aside from the fact that I’m still alive and feeling physically fine, even if my doctor’s freaking the fuck out–is a potential romantic relationship that came to me out of nowhere. I’ll refrain from details here (because some of them are too messed up to believe), but suffice it to say…I need life to chill a little bit.
I’m still working to get Bitter End out before the end of the year (though some help from my editor on that would be nice), and I’d like to get back to Summertime‘s manuscript. I just…I need things to stop. I need a break.
I need to not adult for a few months.
About J.D. Cunegan
J.D. Cunegan is known for his unique writing style, a mixture of murder mystery and superhero epic that introduces the reader to his comic book-inspired storytelling and fast-paced prose. A 2006 graduate of Old Dominion University, Cunegan has an extensive background in journalism, a lengthy career in media relations, and a lifelong love for writing. Cunegan lives in Hampton, Virginia, and next to books and art, his big passion in life in auto racing. When not hunched in front of a keyboard or with his nose stuck in a book, Cunegan can probably be found at a race track or watching a race on TV.
J.D. Cunegan 