A writer’s conscience.

It seems that the Peanut Gallery is clamoring for more. That’s rewarding. Thank you. As our readership checks in, the scrolling ticker catalogs each visit. Don’t think that I don’t notice. I can tell that our three followers check back often and I realize that it’s been a while since I penned an essay about Mi Vida Loca.

Lo siento.

Admittedly, I was on a roll in January, perhaps because I felt refreshed from a visit home for the Holidays. Seeing Michele and the kids gave me a shot in the arm right when I needed it most. I jumped right back in to Arctic life with a renewed spirit. Support from family and friends while back in Minnesota filled my cup and the correct response was for me to write.

I can’t remember off hand whether it was in an email or in a comment on the blog but a while back a casual observer speculated that when there is time between posts, perhaps that is a reflection of tough times in the village. From thousands of miles away, this assertion couldn’t be more spot on.

Of course, I can offer up other excuses.

I am still coaching the Varsity Girls basketball team and on nights when we have the 5:00-6:30 practice I am booked pretty solid.

My P.M. schedule typically looks like this:

3:30 – Class dismissal complete with ritualistic and cordial goodbyes (A cool way of saying “secret handshakes” or a swift boot.)

3:40 – Home to grab a handful of dried cherries or a granola bar – change into warmer clothes and then off for a Mind-Clearing walk.

4:40 – Walk complete and another trip in to the phone booth for Superman to turn back in to Coach.

4:45 – 6:30 – Back to school for basketball practice. It’s usually closer to 7:00 by the time I get the girls out of building. (Remember, there is nowhere for them to go. The school is their social life.)

7:00 – Home for a P90X workout that takes an hour to 1.5 hours and then I’ve gotta find time to visit with the roomie, cook some supper, check in on Facebook Land and send a nightly email to my lovely wife.

Want another excuse? I’ve traveled a bit but now settled in to a mid-season break for ball and nothing is moving me to write at the moment. So, sometimes it’s just not in the cards for me to post. I have to prioritize at the expense of the “Kirby Krew” growing stale. Again, I apologize.

Followers of the Facebook Picture Story have commented from time to time that I am “Living the Dream”. I understand how it must look like that with the pictures that I post. Sports travel truly has become my biggest perk. But life here in the Arctic may not be all that it’s cracked up to be and I find it very observant and thoughtful when friends check in on me when the Blog goes silent for a while. Sometimes it does mean that there are external forces acting against me. Couple that with a need to exercise, eat and work and sometimes I just take a break from writing.

Fear not though, I am alive and well.

Truthfully, there has been a couple of life’s moments that have happened this past week or so that are better left off the written record of the interwebs. Family blogs, much like Facebook, just aren’t the right forum to do your laundry.

As for the observation and wonderings about village life when there’s a break in posts, well… things have been interesting. McQueen School is a complicated place sometimes and I definitely have a new definition of a “good day”. Some days it’s just best to put on a happy face and steady the course. These children need someone to love them in their toughest moments and I try to remind myself of that daily. By the grace of God, I think I’m making a difference – no matter how small it may be.

Anyway, I know why you come here. You want to check in. You interested in knowing more about Kivalina or Kirby. It’s your 5-minute escape from the cube farm to live vicariously through my insanity. Please, keep stopping in. I’ll keep writing…

Along with a few friends – the voices in my head let me know when I haven’t written in a while.