The thing about being ill is that you really don't feel like yourself. The tiredness takes over and you can't even think straight, let alone tap the keys and make sense at the same time. I used to be the kind of person who didn't give up when I felt sick. I'd soldier on. It always ended up being needless. I served no one best by being so tough on myself. The only way to really get over being ill is to let it happen, give in to it and rest.

Okay, I'm not talking about terminal or serious stuff here. I mean the odd cold, flu, tummy bug, or whatever. Rest and relaxation are sometimes the only things that work for minor ailments. They might cause great inconvenience, but I've learnt to take it as a gentle reminder that I may need to stop for a while.

All of Saturday and Sunday I did exactly that; rested and relaxed. I filled my time by sitting next to hubby, who has been as sick as me, anyway, watching TV, movies and reading. I read the weekend West Australian, from front to back, well, almost. I finished White Teeth for my reading group. I watched The Edge, Legends of the Fall and the 30th Anniversary digitally re-mastered version of Jaws. Has it really been 30 years?

I also had a lot of coughing, sneezing, eyes weeping, nose blowing, head pounding, muscles aching, sleeping, and conversations with hubby. The big kids were out of the house for most of the weekend. They both worked all day Saturday, slept all day Sunday, we stayed home from church to prevent spreading our germs, and they went out on both nights to events with other youth at our church. That left hubby and I to look after the baby and each other. Poor little bubby has had the sniffles and a cough, too.

What has all this to do with writing?

Nothing, really, except that I think sometimes we need to rest from writing. I'm not talking about huge chunks of time. That's impractical and puts you back out of touch with your reasons, plots, characters, or whatever you're working on. But I mean small breaks. I wouldn't be feeling like I do now, which isn't the best but it is a whole lot better, if I hadn't stopped and rested these last two days. I didn't feel bad for it. There was no sense of guilt over not having done the daily blogging. I didn't do much writing at all. I did still manage a good session in my handwritten journal on Saturday morning. And most nights I get at least five lines down in my nightly journal each night.

I feel refreshed. I feel ready to take on the remaining challenge. I feel ready to get to the job of writing as often as I can for the rest of these days in the Boot camp. I may not achieve all the goals I want to reach, but that's okay. As long as I'm trying, working, moving forward. That's all I can expect at this point in time. That's got to be enough.