The Butterfly Effect, part of chaos theory, states that making even one small change can cause a huge ripple effect, drastically changing long-term results.

“The flapping of a single butterfly’s wing today produces a tiny change in the state of the atmosphere. Over a period of time, what the atmosphere actually does diverges from what it would have done. So, in a month’s time, a tornado that would have devastated the Indonesian coast doesn’t happen. Or maybe one that wasn’t going to happen, does.” (Ian Stewart, Does God Play Dice? The Mathematics of Chaos, pg. 141)

My life right now is a great example of the Butterfly Effect. My small change came in the form of a killer deadline. Naturally, I had to let chores slide while I worked on my book. Unfortunately, the shoemaker elves didn’t show up in my hour of need and do my jobs while I (briefly) slept, so the projects I normally would have done this summer haven’t been done.

And now disaster looms. Thanks to an unusually wet summer, the yard has turned into a jungle. Even walking to the front door entails dodging overgrown shrubs. If I look out my (still unwashed) windows, I feel overwhelmed at the vegetation I need to hack through. Also outside, the deck hasn’t been stained or the patio furniture repainted. The driveway remains unsealed.

Inside the house the situation is even more dire. “We” (and yes, that means me) decided to paint our bedroom and bathroom this summer. My husband did his part and painted the walls. The trim (my job) still beckons. In the meantime, we have ladders in the hall, paint cans and brushes everywhere.

The list goes on (and on!), room by depressing room, but I’m sure you get the point. That one small deadline change has thrown my life out of control. My “to do” list has become a tsunami of urgent projects.

And to make matters worse, my brain, apparently anticipating my trip to San Francisco next week for the RWA national conference, has already gone on vacation. It’s fried. So all I feel like doing at the moment is curling up with a good romance novel and ignoring the mounting chores.

So my questions for you are:

- Have you ever felt this overwhelmed? If so, how did you deal with it?

- Have you ever used a machete? Do they even sell them anymore?

- Where are those shoemaker elves, anyhow? Is someone else hogging them? If you have them, send them to me! I need them NOW.

I’ll send a copy of HEART OF A THIEF to someone who commiserates. (And if you have everything together and are ahead of schedule, I really don’t want to know :evil: )