It's been too long since my last post. Life has been wonderful and busy. Last year we became licensed foster parents, and have been enjoying our foster infant for the past 7+ months. The addition of an infant has blessed us with baby belly laughs and sweet coos, along with sleepless nights and a serious decrease in writing time. Thankfully I'm getting back into a writing schedule, but it's been a long time in coming.
Being a writing mom requires flexibility. Lots and lots of flexibility. And caffeine. Becoming a foster mom has been the single most challenging thing I've ever done (or asked my family to do). It's also been one of the most rewarding. It's taught me a lot about patience. Something I'm always in short supply of. It's also taught me the value and necessity of daily--sometimes hourly-- self care.
Writing and reading are an important part of my self care. I need to write every day, and for the better part of the last year, that's meant writing in a journal. Nothing intended for publication, but rather an outlet for the tangled words pulled out of my too-full brain. I've plotted books, and written a few pages in books I plan to finish this year. But for the most part, my creative productivity has been severely lacking. I've had to shelve a lot of guilt over that.
I've been quite the productive mom, however, and my family is thankful. I have a deep sense of satisfaction over that. Now my creative side is begging for more time, and I'm making it happen. I watch other writing moms and marvel at how they seem to effortlessly balance everything. I doubt it's truly effortless, but they're so good at what they do, it's inspiring to see.
There's an art to knowing when and how to devote your time to the important things. After a few more snuggles with my kids, I'm putting my pen to paper.
