I almost took this month off. I have a ton of stuff on my plate.

We’re celebrating our huge move (just a year ago!)

And we’re getting ready for another one. Not quite a big, but we’re ready to find our forever home.

But that means the cleaning and packing are starting… again.

And it’s the middle of birthday season, when four out of five birthdays in our family happen in an eight week period.

I’m also job hunting and still working on my novel.

Not to mention the kids have spring break this week.

And having finished up “season two” of Chelsea last month, I kinda thought I could take a break from it this month.

But then I remembered Max. Max is one of my writing buddies, and he and his husband have been super important in terms of keeping me sane the last few years. Hex (the husband) got me righted on my novels. His criticism and support got me to write them again.

Max, however, *loves* Chelsea. At his last job, he didn’t a lot of time to read, but he did need to kill 10 or 15 minutes here and there. So short, 1000 word stories were perfect for killing time in between rounds (Max was the night guard). Make the rounds, check the monitors, read for a few minutes. Do it again.

Max proofread and critiqued a lot of Chelsea on that job. He helped me figure out where she was headed, and who she needed to be.

So skipping a month because I feel a little overwhelmed isn’t really an option. Max is waiting for the next story.

If you’ve been a little overwhelmed at a monthly story, afraid to get your feet wet as it were, well, this is the beginning of season three. A new direction for Chelsea and new adventures are coming.