What It Takes to Write

I always feel I have to explain/ excuse myself in some way any time I miss a day since the goal that I've plastered all over this blog is that I'll write every day. I often find that I'm ready to move past the fact that I missed a day and just move forward, but I can't yet. Thinking about this and all the reasons I haven't written every single day lately has gotten me thinking about writing and all that goes into it and why I made this goal in the first place. Here's the thing: it takes effort to write. Sure,

"Any idiot
Can write haiku just stop on
The seventeenth syll..."

but to truly write takes time to think. To write from the heart takes even more. Also, for me personally, it takes quiet time alone to be able to construct something meaningful out of words. I need the music off, nobody around talking, and nobody looking over my shoulder. With our internet not working at home for about a week and a big family gathering happening away from home (where I couldn't retreat to be someplace by myself) I simply had to put writing on hold. That's okay. Life is like that sometimes, certainly. And of course participating in real life is more important than writing about it. But it's nice to be back home in the quiet and to have the internet working again so I can plunk away by myself for a while in the quiet of our little apartment.