I promise you my travel plans have not been altered due to any national health hype. 😊 As soon as my travel plans were booked last fall, I shared with you that I was heading to the largest literary conference in North America, the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) Conference for the first time. Funny thing is that I have now registered AND booked travel to two AWPs and have never attended. A few years ago, I had booked a trip to the Los Angeles AWP. We had a lot of other travels planned that year, and it wasn’t until everything was paid for that I realized the cost was significantly more than I wanted to spend at the time. Similarly, after my trip to San Antonio was booked for this year’s AWP, I started to feel almost resentful of the cost. That married a feeling of remorse I had because I wasn’t going to another conference happening near home during the same days. (There are actually THREE conferences happening at the same time and I had a hard time choosing!)

Last month I decided to listen to my gut about what I wanted. I wanted to attend a beekeeper conference instead, so I canceled my Texas hotel and plane ticket. (By the way, shoutout to Southwest Airlines, their easy mobile cancellation, AND their full refund! I try to fly them whenever possible.) Then I booked a waterfront room in the hotel where the beekeeper conference was being held on the North Carolina coast. I felt good about it. I felt excited about it.

I mentioned in an earlier post that we have an illness in our family and they were out-of-state. We’ve been handling the logistics of health care consults, housing, and relocation, and now my in-laws live LITERALLY over the river and through the woods about 10 minutes from us here in Pittsboro, North Carolina. The timing of their move and medical appointments fell right in the midst of this week that is full of conferences I want to attend. So even though I had already decided I wasn’t going to AWP, I decided I wasn’t going to the beekeeper conference either. I felt sad about it, but glad to have the opportunity to help our family.

It almost seems meant-to-be that I’m not going to AWP because my intent was to participate with the Writer to Agent program, and I received an email a few weeks ago that I didn’t get a spot. 😦

If you’re going to AWP this year, please comment below. I’d like to know about the highlights, the food(!), and the Texan vibes (I’ve never been). If you’re NOT going to AWP this year, is it due to life or travel complications? Let me know in the comments.