I'm in awe of authors who manage to write in the summer months. Many juggle a house full of children, hold full-time jobs and keep spouses and significant others happy while managing to write and publish books. I'm single and dating, I juggle a small house, care for a largish Pug and a year old kitten. I have a great group of friends I love to visit with and I can barely manage to write for three or four hours a day this summer. How do they do it?
I suppose this is where babysitters, summer camps, stay-at-home husbands, and grandparents come in for these super authors. I like to imagine that their homes look like a train wreck or look like a small tornado went through, but I highly doubt it. I see incredible organization, spotless homes decorated a la minimalist, and no clutter. I certainly don't see piles of laundry, papers that need sorting through, and pets holding their water and food dishes, hoping to get their master's attention. Okay, that's my house. I'm seeing my house.
I read several blogs written by women authors and I can look at a photograph and know who has their stuff together. There's a confidence that radiates from some of these women and I know they run their homes and lives like a well-oiled machine. I ran such a machine when I was married and had children at home, but I didn't write books in those days. I wrote in my journal daily, but I certainly wasn't writing books.
As a single woman with no children at home, I'm finding it difficult to write in the summer months. That shouldn't be, right? Well, believe it. My garden and the Museum rose garden I volunteer at on Saturdays constantly call to me for more attention, especially in light of all the rain we've had this month. My old house is a work-in-progress and as with any 107-year old house, there's always a window sill to strip and a staircase to sand in preparation for painting. I still have two upstairs bedrooms to paint and tile floors to put down in my kitchen and bathroom. The work never ends in this house I bought two years ago. My house wasn't exactly a fixer-upper, but it definitely needed painting throughout.
How will I organize myself in the summer months to write? I won't. I won't drive myself bonkers, trying to get it all done. How will I get this new book written? One page at a time. I just have to reorganize my priorities. The painting will get done in the fall and winter months when the gardens are slowing down and the new flooring will be down before Christmas. I'll continue with my weekly cleaning and write when I can this summer. I'm going on vacation with my kids and visiting friends in NYC in August which I'm excited about and I'm planning a trip to Boston with a new friend in September to visit his daughter and then, shoot up to visit my family for a few days. I also have blogger friends I want to see this summer.
Balance. I'm trying to find the right balance in my life where I get my work done and I also have a life, especially a social life. After all, I'm a single girl :)
Peace and love,
Ellie
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