Here's the great thing about having actual public events lined up: they're the perfect motivation to keep myself from falling into the soooooo tempting stay-at-home-mom-writer pit where I NEVER get my hair cut (or worn-out clothes replaced) because it never seems worth finding the time. Today, shockingly, I had a new haircut just one month after the last one.
It was the first time I'd had two cuts so close together since before MrD was born...and my hairdresser was visibly relieved! After finding out last time that it had been the first cut in five months, I think she had dire concerns about whether or not I was really grown-up enough to maintain the nice haircut she'd given me...and I have to admit, if I didn't have tomorrow's launch party as a spur to make myself presentable, I probably wouldn't have.
I really loved this bit from one of Sarah Dessen's recent blog entries:
I know I've said this before, but for some reason, I keep waiting for things to Calm Down. You know, get manageable again. But it's been three years since I became a mom, almost, and the chaos is clearly here to stay. I also realized recently that I have this habit of just waiting for, you know, that finish line moment, when everything will fall into place and it's smooth sailing from there on it. Like the end of a movie, right?
I loved the whole entry but laughed in particularly rueful recognition at that paragraph. Ohhhh, yeah. After MrD was born, I was SURE things would calm down within a few months...and yeah, they did, but then he became a toddler...and then, and then, and then... Funny, it turns out life is just a lot more full and complicated (as well as rich and often joyful) after you become a parent, and it doesn't ever really go back to the streamlined non-parenting timeline. (Well, except maybe after they leave for school or university? Obviously, we're not there yet.)
I really liked LK Madigan's blog entry Do You Need a Door?, which collects thoughts from a whole bunch of writers about what kind of writing space they need (including some thoughts on how that can change after having children). I am soooooo jealous of Deva Fagan's lovely writing desk, shown in a photo there! Nowadays, I do most of my writing while lying on a couch or a bed, while MrD is at his childminder in the morning or (if I'm lucky and he sleeps deeply) during his afternoon nap. But I still think longingly about coffeeshop writing trips...maybe I will fit one in soon. After all, I spent several months thinking that I couldn't fit in haircuts, and it turns out those really are possible. So who knows?
What would you guys really like to do, if you only had the time?

Website designed and built by 50 Seconds North | Credits | Copyright, Privacy, and Terms & Conditions | Sitemap