I’ve been complaining (to anyone who will listen) about never having the time to write, so I thought I would keep track of my activities on a writing day to determine what is getting in the way. My day usually starts early. I’m an early riser by nature, so sleeping in for me is 6:30.
My day job is babysitting my two-year old grandson three or four days a week. We spend our time watching Disney’s Cars or Bolt (both several times a day). We go to the park and swing, or play Follow the Leader (he always gets to be the leader). He loves to water Grandma’s flowers and tomato plants (we usually end up wetter than the plants). We also read books, practice the alphabet, and sing songs. But his favorite activity is getting down on the kitchen floor to play with cars. He’s very good at giving directions such as, “Sit right here, Grandma.” Or “Go over there, Grandma.”
On my day off, (i.e. a writing day) this is an example of my schedule.
6:00 – 6:30 Check and answer email.
6:30 – 6:45 Do a little tweeting. Discover a recipe for Lemon Sour Cream Bundt Cake with Lemon Drizzle from @TheRedheadRiter. YUM! Can’t wait to try this one.
6:45 – 7:15 Check in with Facebook. Wish one friend a happy birthday and one a belated happy birthday (oops). Like a couple of comments and read a link. This leads me to Pinterest (which a time consuming black hole that I love!).
7:15 – 8:00 Time to write. Had to check a fact on the Internet, but got sidetracked by a wildfire video narrated by Tom Selleck (I’d recognize that sexy voice anywhere). I notice Nicholas Sparks has a new book coming out, which reminds me to check in with Goodreads.
8:00 – 8:15 My stomach growls – time for breakfast. I’m really into Oikos Greek Yogurt with a little Kashi GoLean Crunch sprinkled on top. I would have added fresh raspberries but they have white fuzz growing on them, so I forgo the fresh fruit. As I eat, I go over tonight’s dinner menu. Six of our eight kids will be over, along with three girlfriends, plus a sister-in-law and her husband. I still need to cook pasta for the pasta salad. It’ll take several hours to chill. I also have to crush candy bars to top the chocolate cake I made for dessert.
8:15 – 9:30 Back to writing and I actually get four pages down.
9:30 – 10:00 Clean kitchen because it’s pretty disgusting (my husband argues that it isn’t disgusting, I just have a low tolerance for dirt—does that mean I don’t have to clean?). Thirty minutes only allows for a quick once-over.
10:00 – 10:30 Clean guest bathroom because it’s even more disgusting than the kitchen. I talked to a friend yesterday and she said it didn’t actually need to be cleaned unless there is pink slime growing. There isn’t, but it hasn’t been cleaned since…If I can’t remember, it’s been too long.
10:30 – 11:30 Shower and get ready for the day. On the way back to my desk I decide I must have a piece of chocolate—or two and a diet coke. I can treat myself because of the healthy breakfast I had AND I consider it a precursor to the chocolate cake I’m serving for dessert.
11:30 – 12:00 Dust and vacuum the family room (where we all congregate).
12:00 – 4:00 Back to writing. I get eight more pages completed. Yay!
4:oo – 5:00 Whip up appetizers and add finishing touches to dinner. Set the dining room table and clean the patio table (where we congregate until the mosquitos make an appearance and then we move to the family room).
5:00 – 8:00 Loud. Crazy. Chaos!
8:00 – 8:15 House empties. (This always takes more than fifteen minutes because someone invariably forgets something and has to come back.)
8:15 – 8:20 Hubby and I look at each other and laugh because if we didn’t we’d cry.
8:20 – 9:00 While watching T.V. with the love of my life and surfing the net, I happen to see Time Magazine’s cover story,
“THE
CHILDFREE
LIFE
When having it all means not having children”
Childfree!
I could have spent the whole day writing if I didn’t have children. I wouldn’t have to clean the kitchen or the bathroom. I would have eaten a much larger piece of chocolate cake. I wouldn’t wake up in the middle of the night reciting lines from Disney’s Cars or Bolt like “There is no truck I know that can keep in Bolt and Rhino.” I wouldn’t waste hours on the phone listening to dating dramas and woes. I wouldn’t be called to unlock cars and houses when a key is left inside. I wouldn’t be proofreading a college essay and I would lose a quarter of my alpha readers! Childfree.
I’m a little disappointed to read that having eight kids has prevented me from having it all, because all this time I thought I did.
9:00 Fall into bed because my grandson will be here at 5:45 in the morning telling me, “Sit right here, Grandma.”
Hi! From Grandma and Aiden!