I’ve been thinking about what to write about since last Wednesday. Although I wasn’t dreading coming up with a writing idea, I was avoiding. I didn’t want to narrow exactly what I wanted to write about. How is it that I could find the time and motivation to write daily for a month, and during the school year mind you, but struggle so much to write weekly in the summer? Pretty pathetic. And here comes the list of excuses:
ü I’ve been teaching summer school.
ü I’ve been sitting on my front porch and reading. Right now I’m reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
ü I’ve been going to bible study with my mom and sisters.
ü I’ve been taking trips to my brother’s lake house. He just got a pontoon boat that I need to spend time reading on.
ü I’ve been going to Wednesday study group with the teachers at my school (we’re reading Café and The Daily 5).
ü I’ve been staying up late and waiting for a text from my 19-year-old assuring me she made it to play practice in a nearby city.
ü I’ve been forcing my 14-year-old to take the responsibility to ask his friend, who lives a stone’s throw away, if he can snag a ride home after football practice. Arguing with teenagers Fostering independence in kids takes a lot of energy.
ü I’ve been cleaning my neglected house.
ü I’ve been watching back-to-back episodes of Lie to Me with my son while eating an embarrassing amount of junk food.
I’m sure there is other stuff that I am forgetting. All in all, I’ve been pretty busy avoiding writing.
I had those exact thoughts this week, how did I write for a month but once a week it has been hard. I love that you need to be on that pontoon reading. Your list looks less like excuses and more like a life being lived. Enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteIt is odd, with that pressure off, how we can't get going. You are doing some wonderful things besides writing, however. Maybe if you wrote about one of those on the list. I'm interested!
ReplyDeleteSummer is a catch-up time, it seems. When you are teaching, I don't think you step outside of the box very often, nor too far, so it's easier to keep on track for writing. Reading on a pontoon boat...now how often do you get to do that?! Just a bit of writing about how it felt to be a rockin' and a readin' on the water would be nice to hear about!
ReplyDeleteSometimes as writers we need to process. I find my writing comes in floods not streams.
ReplyDeleteI think this was a lovely slice. Your excuses paint a picture of you and your life and isn't that exactly what a slice is? Plus, I could relate to most of them.
ReplyDeleteOh, I chuckled my way through your list. I was just thinking that I need to write more while I have the time...no time like the present. Enjoy your reading!
ReplyDeleteBoy did I find myself in your list! My favorites are reading on the pontoon (no such luck here, so it's by the pool instead) and "fostering independence"....that one does take a LOT of energy!
ReplyDeleteDiana, I am having the same issues! I naively thought that I would write daily this summer, but I seem to have a problem getting that done. I have adjusted to trying to write every other day, but sometimes, life just gets in the way. Have a great rest of the summer!
ReplyDeleteYour list shared more of what you are up to than a story entry would. I'm not sure I could even make a list - which kind of means I'm not doing much of anything! (I begin summer school on Monday, and my colleagues and I are reading The Daily 5 and Cafe too!)
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