Wow, what a week

I'm heading home from Adelaide today after the most amazing experience these past 5 days at my masterclass. Outside of special family events, this may have been the best week of my life. There were 14 of us in the Masterclass, led by Fiona McIntosh, a bestselling Australian author who writes bestsellers in crime AND historial fiction. It was such a friendly group, Fiona is SO knowledgabe (about writing and also commercial publishing), but also very funny, and we spent a lot of time learning, laughing, and encouraging each other. It was held in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, which is such a beautiful setting, and we got a lot of sunshine even though its almost winter.

My spot for the week

Autumn in the gardens

AND of course, I had quiet evenings with no parenting duties or chores, which was such a nice break from routine. I even got a bit bored and lonely some nights, which were emotions I rarely feel, and was a great reminder that even though life can be a bit exhausting at time, I am very grateful for my beautiful family. I was so relieved to hear the kids have been fine while I've been away too. They had fun with their grandparents, uncles and aunts over the weekend, and lots of attention from Al too of course. Given O hasn't coped so well when I've gone away before, this has been very welcome news, and allowed me to enjoy my time away without any guilt.

The other important aspect to this week is that I have renewed confidence in my writing. Fiona gave me very positive feedback, and basically told me to stop doubting myself and just finish the manuscript. During the course I came up for a new opening for my novel that's more attention grabbing, and developed some new ideas, and now I'm ready to come home and keep writing! I'm giving myself until my birthday in late September to finish the first draft. I now have a group of writers to stay in touch with and encourage each other, and I know this will be of immense value too!

So now, its back to reality. I'm having a slow morning before checkout, and then will uber straight to the airport for my midday flight. I'll pick up little gifts for the kids from the airport, and enjoy some reading and relaxing on the 2 hour flight. I'm planning to catch the train home from the airport since it will only be mid afternoon when I fly in, and hoping to be back in time for dinner with everyone at my parents house.

How has everyone else's week been?

Has anyone else every done something life changing or inspiring? If you have kids, how do they go when you travel away from them?