Life, Interruptions, & Plans

This cartoon from the Punch magazine by John Leech in 1847 shows life hasn’t changed that much in 160 years. Everyday details intrude upon the creative space of the would-be artist.

Perhaps September wasn’t the best time to try to focus on a new project or hobby. With the start of the school year, I was ecstatic to discover I had all day between 8:30 am and 2:15 pm to myself. However, in practice, this time is nibbled away as the kids forget things at school that have to be brought to them — glasses, violins, binders — all things they can’t live without.

The fifth grade teachers have instituted what they call a “No Rescue Policy” where the kids aren’t allowed to call home for these forgotten treasures. They can only hope that the desired object magically appears where it needs to be at the right time. Somehow, this feels like even more pressure on me rather than teaching them to be more responsible.

September has also been a busy time for DH with work and travel. It seems like he’s been gone more this month than he’s been home. He comes home today to leave again on Friday for Tokyo. This leaves me little to no time in the evenings to even try to catch up on writing time missed during the day because there’s homework to be done. I really need to instill the “If I have to work, so do you” ethic in my kids.

I haven’t been dropping in on the live chats on Romance Divas much the past couple of weeks either. I feel guilty for that, but I don’t have anything in my head that I can sit and write about for 20 minutes right now. Excuses, excuses. I’m quickly running out of them. I’ve got some plans, but they’re mostly in the sit and think about it stage. Digesting information and techniques takes time. I need to wrap my head around them so I can absorb them and then be able to work with them.