Gaming Withdrawal (Too Many Cancelled Games)

It's been a rough couple of weeks for me, as I'm not getting my fix of choice. Gaming, that is.

My typical weekly gaming schedule involves a Continuum campaign I run, a Fate game I play in, and an additional one-shot that I either GM or play in. I really hate canceling sessions. I don't like letting people down. Also, I must admit I get really psyched to game, and there's a huge let down for me when I don't get to follow through on it.

• A couple weeks ago, I missed a Thursday night one-shot. (And I missed another 2 weeks before that, come to think of it.)
• That weekend we went camping, and so the Fate game was canceled.
• I'd hoped to get some horror gaming around the campfire going that weekend to replace it, but rain, and a smoke-inhalation-induced headache kept me from running the game I'd prepared.
• Then on Wednesday, there was a last-minute emergency that canceled my Continuum game just minutes after was supposed to start.

All this came about during a time frame when I thought the amount of gaming I was doing was actually going to increase. A player who'd had to leave my Continuum game a couple months ago because of schedule conflicts inquired about returning, but at a different day and time. It being a game with time-travel and teleportation, where party unity is already quite fragile, I agreed. I'm weaving a related narrative for him into the main narrative for the folks playing in the "main" session, and the limited overlap shouldn't be much of a problem.  However, the first session with him was mostly recap, and the two scenes I did run fell a little flat (I kinda prepped the wrong things). The second week of it was much better, but the player had something come up in the middle of it, and had to leave early.

So that's four and a half sessions I've missed in recent memory. Two and a half of which I did my normal amount (as in, more than is really necessary) of GM prep work for. So I'm kinda wound up, bursting with ideas and wanting to run them.

This week, for various reasons, I'm going to have to miss all four games. I can't imagine what that will feel like, knowing that I missed out on 8.5 games in just over a month. I bet that by my next opportunity to game, my hands will be shaking from the withdrawal.

Actually, as I look at my keyboard, I see that's already happening. I'll try to look at the bright side: there's a chance the dice tracks on my arm will finally heal a little, assuming I can keep from picking at the scabs.