Writer Life: Making Excuses window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'UA-177878804-1');

For years, I didn’t attend many social gatherings or have lunch with friends/acquaintances. There was always something I needed to do. Schoolwork/tests with the kiddo were the usual reasons. I’ve never made up an excuse. Never lied about an illness, family member, friend or pet to avoid a lunch date, etc. **Karma and all**.

I’ve always had a pressing thing that needed my attention. Now that she’s graduated, I find myself in situations where I need a reason to *get out of* certain social gatherings. Today was one of those occasions. Friends of ours wanted us (pressured us) to stay at their restaurant for our meal. Honestly, we’d been shopping for hours (searching for something specific) and I wasn’t up to dealing with more people. Sometimes, we all have to admit we just can’t socialize anymore. There’s nothing wrong with that, but some folks have the ability to Kelly Rippa their way through every day of their life. That’s not me. So, here was my chance. I can honestly use my book as an excuse to avoid staying, right? Or so I thought. “Book? You write books? Nah. Just stay for some food.” The most honest thing in the world, my career, and she looked at me as if I’d grown three heads. Worse, she acted as if I lied. I couldn’t use schoolwork with kiddo as an excuse. I didn’t have any pressing plans with my husband. No class reunion, appointment–nothing.

So, I went another route. “I have to get home so I can give my dog a ride on the golf cart.” Her eyes lit up with fascination. “Can I see your dog?” I open my phone containing a thousand photos of Rockstar. “Have fun and give him snuggles for me. See you next time.” I was kind of amazed. Giving Rocky a ride on the cart was more “believable/important” than working on one of my books. Well, it worked. And just so you know I didn’t make up that excuse either. Here’s a pic of him and the leash we bought him today. #livinghisbestlife. What’s the craziest excuse you’ve ever used (real or fake) to get out of socializing? Drop me a comment below to tell me. Until next time… XOXO, Madison

Wanna know more about Rocky? Follow me on social media or grab a copy of Phoenix, Asphalt Cowboys 2. It’s his book. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JU0K83E/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1