Post Script to Day 14

I woke up in the night and could not go back to sleep. So while I impatiently waited for sleep to overtake me, I thought about the ways I could fill the holes that have emerged in my editorial calendar for this month's series, marveled at the fact that people are following and responding to my series (thank you, 31 Dayers!), and reviewed what I wrote yesterday.

I realized that there were two points that I didn't emphasize as strongly as I wanted to as I glossed over the “if I can do this as a divorcing working mom, so can you” paragraphs of the post. If you got them, good for you, but I just feel that they require more attention and reinforcement. What I want to add to yesterday's post are these two thoughts:

1. Because I don't have large swaths of time to write, I DO NOT HAVE TIME TO BE DISTRACTED, therefore, the time I spend must be productive. Can you hear what I mean? There is no guarantee that IF I had MORE time, I would get that much more writing done. I can guarantee that my laundry would be caught up and the kitchen counter cleared regularly because I would be getting the dishwasher loaded. I would be calling the completion of those tasks “breaks,” but writing doesn't get done if one isn't actually writing. Hence my assertion that more time would not necessarily equate to more writing.
2. WRITING GETS DONE BECAUSE I DEDICATE THE TIME NO MATTER HOW SMALL THE NUMBER OF MINUTES. I don't leave my desk until the page is complete. I have built-in pressure, a deadline to uphold, so to speak. I know I only have so much time before I must start my “get ready for the job that pays my bills” routine. I am convinced that I would not have gotten this first draft written as efficiently if I had had more time. So my epiphany about using what time I have and not “wishing for more” keeps me on track and productive.

I'm worried that these two points sound the same, but there are nuances within that are important for me to differentiate. Writing is really like anything else. If it means enough to me, I will make time for it. And writing has become a lifeline. It stops my anxieties in their tracks. It is a companion to me when my daughter is with her dad. I understand my life and its complexities better after putting fingertips to keyboard and punching out my thoughts. It is why I turned off cable and my TV was relegated to the basement. Why it's only plugged in when family come to visit. (Full disclosure: I pay $8.99 a month for Netflix on my laptop and phone, and am grateful for some entertainment, but I notice that even with that my viewing occurs in spurts.)

My life is richer because of my writing pursuits. When you find something that nourishes you the way my writing does for me, you will go to lengths great and small to ensure that obstacles are moved out of the way.