Out of Whack

"DO NOT DISTURB unless you plan to offer food."

Reader, I am out of whack this week.  Out of whack, off-balance, off-kilter, and all the rest.  It seems I find myself always in one of two states:  

~behind on housework, ahead on poems; or

~caught up on housework, behind on poems.

Neither sounds too bad if you just take them at face value (and neither is too bad when you think of the problems one could have in this life), but in practice "behind on housework" means people are wearing dirty socks, eating pretzels as an entree, and walking over piles of things to get around the house.  And "behind on poems" means the Mom Trying to Write is crabby.  And sad.

This week I am caught up on housework.

Once again I find myself looking for just the right balance of time to be a mom and time to be a writer.  And once again, I remind myself that it's not an easy balance to strike for me, or for many other writers, most of whom also have a day job (and many who have a day job and children).

My mantra this week has been: "Just because it's not easy doesn't mean you're doing it wrong."  This has helped me to get through many a difficult parenting moment, as well as moments of feeling the imbalance between mom and writer most keenly.

So for today, I have set my boundaries with one exception that seemed, um, important (see photo).

And I have found comfort -- the "you're not alone" kind of comfort -- in these words from Don Share, senior editor at Poetry, who, in a discussion on gender equality in publishing, said, "women who raise children are significantly less free to get writing done and get it out there... ."  And inspiration in these words, also from Mr. Share: "I hope that every writer will be as persistent as her resources and circumstances permit, and that despair, however much it impinges, will never defeat any writer who has talent and devotion."

(Devotion, meaning profound dedication; from the Latin devovere, "dedicate by a vow.")

Please substitute whatever word you want for "writer."  I think this is good advice for any passions and goals you have for yourself in your one wild and precious life.