I’m flying the coop! I’ve been a work-from-home mom for almost 21 years now. I’ve taken a couple vacations—a week here or there, but this one feels different. I’m going to Italy for two weeks, without my family. I travelled a lot when I was young and single. Doing two major backpacking trips: the first through northern Europe before I started a two month job in Norway. And then another, I refer to as my beach vacation: Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Venice Beach, California.
It was the time before internet, before a little phone in your pocket connected you to the world. I actually took a camera—and had no phone at the time. I remember the struggles trying to learn the pay phone system in each country so I could call home to my mother and let her know I was still alive. As a mother now, I’m deeply sorry for what I put my mom through!
But I’m older now, a little rusty, and a writer! I wasn’t a writer back then, or felt too young to be one. In the past ten years, I’ve long stared at writing retreats in places like Spain, Hawaii, Mexico, Italy—but I’ve always shied away. I didn’t possibly think I could sit in a writing retreat when there was so much to see and do in those exotic locations. But, to take my writing with me to those locales, that’s a different thing.
Have a few hours a night to yourself: write! Sitting in the airport waiting: write! Sitting in a café: write! Sitting on the plane: write! To be true, I’m not sure how I’ll do at all that. I’m easily distracted, often finding it difficult to read in crowded places, let alone write. But this is a new me, one stretching her wings again after tending the nest for many years.
When my kids were young, each summer we’d pack the car and head to my parent’s cottage for a week. They could visit with grandma and grandpa, and I could get some writing done. As a novel writer, I had a lot of baggage. I did have a laptop and even had a little printer I could bring with me to print off pages which meant I had to bring paper. And then my notes. At least one bankers box for my novel notes and timelines. And I couldn’t go without a few how-to books. I did not travel light.
When it came to my writing, I often felt tied to home. I wouldn’t bother packing that all up to go for a weekend at my parents. Or any other short visit. But times have changed. This winter, as I was finishing up my first novel, I decided it was time for a new laptop. The one I was working on was 13 years old and the disk drive made a whirring and almost grinding sound every time I turned it on. The battery wouldn’t last an hour and the whole thing felt like a ton of bricks. I’d outfitted my daughters in the latest digital equipment for school. My youngest had chosen a wee little MacBook Air and I envied how portable it seemed compared to my hulking old laptop that could barely move without being put on life support.
I wanted to be portable! I wanted my writing to come easy, not to be frustrated by opening up that old laptop, listening to it grind away until it settled down, making sure I had a plug nearby. I want to write inside, outside, in cafes, wherever I happen to be. I want to be able to take my writing with me, wherever I go. This was consistent with my 2023 theme of flow, trying to bring more flow into my life. And there’s nothing more frustrating than having hours to kill and not having your writing with you.
And now I have Scrivener. I don’t need a box of notes and papers. I can find everything easily on a project in Scrivener. I’ll still miss my printer, but I’ll leave any editing until I come back. And of course, I’ll still bring my pen and two journals. Never let tech get in the way of writing, or reading. I’m still bringing books though I have audible too. But I can see the benefit of a kindle when you have to carry all this around.
I’m travelling with a digital nomad, someone who’s chosen this path as a lifestyle—working and travelling. I’m not sure how much travel there will be in my future. Mostly because it’s quite expensive when you’re not backpacking and staying in hostels. Travelling at 57 is a lot different than travelling at 27. Not only have I changed, but the world has changed too. But for the next two weeks, I’ll imagine myself a digital nomad with the job of novel writer. One never knows what the future holds, but now I’ll be ready: Have writing, will travel.
