Now that summer is winding down, I’ve launched a new writing project and boy . . . does that feel good. Summer is a busy time for me. Luisa and I receive (and welcome!) many out-of-town family members and friends, either in Sebastopol or at the farm. This is also the time that my work representing the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan heats up. This summer we had Italian students at UCLA; Stanford; UC Berkeley; Columbia; The University of San Francisco; and the University of New Orleans. Last summer, I was starting work on the film treatment that eventually became “I Love You California.” I tried to squeeze in minutes of writing between social and professional obligations. It didn’t work well. Mostly, I felt frustrated with myself for not getting enough done. But this summer, I played it differently. I had a general idea of what my next project would be, but rather than expend energy feeling resentful, stressed or conflicted, I let myself enjoy our family and friends and did what needed to be done to insure good summers for our students. In short, I did my best to stay “in the moment” and use whatever downtime I had not to write, but to think about writing. The result: we had a very enjoyable, relaxed summer and, truth be known, I wouldn’t have accomplished much even if I had fretted about it.   This way, having thought about it but not having butted my head against a wall, I’m ready to go with a sufficiently clear idea of how to proceed. This summer taught me  an important lesson.  Now all I have to do is remember it!