Just to give you an idea of what can happen: Last night I finally sorted out in my head how I wanted things to go with the next few chapters. And today just as I was heading from the kitchen into the office to write, the phone rang.

And it was, of course, an elderly relative having A HUGE CRISIS!!!! TENS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS WERE MISSING!!!!!!!!

This was a False Crisis (the money is right where it should be). But as seems to be typical in elder care, the False Crisis, while utterly false, could not be dismissed, because it was caused by a True Crisis: This relative (who was very financially sophisticated at one point) could not read a bank statement properly.

Naturally it was my duty to call other, more-able relatives and let them know about the True Crisis. The problem with trying to manage a decline like this is that you're always trying to hit a moving target, and measures we have taken that seemed to be working are not really appropriate for someone who cannot understand a bank statement. The consensus was that fatigue was a factor, but that this was likely an indication that this person's control over their financial affairs may have to be curtailed even further sooner rather than later.

So, yeah. Not writing today. Got some great ideas though, and when I'm not freaking out over my family I'm really excited about them.