#atozchallenge: Giving Up Stress or How the Grinch Stole My A to Z Challenge

Every blogger online liked A to Z a lot...
But the Grinch, who lived just north of the web, did NOT!
The Grinch hated the Challenge! The whole blogging season!
Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason.
It could be his head wasn't screwed on just right.
It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight.
But I think that the most likely reason of all,
May have been that his heart was two sizes too small.
Whatever the reason, his heart or his shoes,
He stood there during the Challenge, hating the news.
Staring down from his cave with a sour, Grinchy frown,
At the warm lighted blogs below in their web-town.
For he knew every blogger doing A to Z this day,
Was busy now writing what they wanted to say.
"And they'll be posting those blogs!" he snarled with a sneer,
"Tomorrow another day of the Challenge will be here!"
Then he growled with his Grinch fingers nervously drumming,
"I MUST find some way to stop the Challenge from coming!"
       (Poem borrowed heavily from Dr. Seuss' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas")

So you know what he did? The Grinch stole all my letters! And now the A to Z Challenge will have to be completed my someone better.

That's what happened. Cross my heart.



________________________________________________________


Sometimes life strikes and we just have to plow through it. At other times, the worst thing we can do to ourselves is force more stress on an already taut tightrope. The latter is me.

My husband and I had the most unexpected blessing fall into place this week and are now planning a move into our first house. While this is cause for much thankfulness and excitement, it has also brought a mountain of stress into our lives. It didn't take long for my stress level to rise beyond what is healthy for me. In an effort to relieve the pressure and make this a pleasant time, I have been eliminating unnecessary obligations from my schedule. The A to Z Challenge is one of them.

I looked forward to sharing my love of all things Seuss with you all and regret having to stop so close to the beginning. But this is a good and important step in our lives, one that I am so thrilled to take. Putting my online writing on hold is worth that step.

Thank you all for your support and comments over the last few days. I'll still try to stop by and read your ongoing entries, even though I may be somewhat ghostlike in my presence.

And, please, if you liked the idea of Dr. Seuss-inspired entries and stories, sign up to receive updates from this blog. I still want to do it - it's just been delayed by a couple of months. Maybe summer Seuss will be just as exciting.

To all the A to Z participants: good luck and keep going!

Tweet