Tuesday, June 5, 2012

The Quiet life of a Writer Mom


There’s a Yiddish saying- You can’t ride two horses with one behind.

But (homophone intended) isn’t that what we moderns do all the time?

I look at my own life. By definition as a stay-at-home mom it’s a calm life. Oh sure, there’s driving the kids. Yes, some house work and residential dinner chef services included. Oh, and that other thing, that little hobby of writing, which I insist on calling a profession and try to get paid for.

Then please explain to me why I am always busy and never catch up? No Dahling, it’s not the swank parties I attend. I’m a shy person who doesn’t attend parties, and my few dear friends are not swanky. No, I don’t sit in front of the television eating bonbons. What are bonbons exactly? The last time I saw one I was probably eight years old, and I don’t remember that far. I also don’t play tennis at the club (no budget for a club) and I don’t spend mornings kicking sand at the beach. When it comes to the beach I can glance at it from afar, with little time to actually go there.
What I do is ride two, nay- several, horses with one behind. By that old Yiddish saying, my life is an impossibility.
Don’t get me wrong; I LOVE MY BLESSED LIFE; or should I say- my lives? How many horses is this fellow riding?
And I did notice he is not using his one behind at all. You do what you have to do. Ride on!

12 comments:

Christine Sarmel said...

What a great saying! And a wonderful analogy to your writing life.

Amy D said...

How interesting, we blogged about similar things today! I love my blessed life, too.

Jaye Robin Brown said...

I love that etching :0)

As I have four horses in my barn (literally), I relate very well to this saying.

Jen Klein said...

I call it "the juggling act." All that stuff -- the carpool and the schedule and the dinner prep and the actual dinners and the homework and the discipline and the reading and the listening -- it all takes time. Add writing to that. Then add all the things that come WITH writing -- the networking and the online networking and the updating and the blogging and, in my screenwriting life, the endless meetings -- and it makes up for one very busy, blessed life.

Vijaya said...

I do love my writing life, but it'd go a lot smoother if I had a clone ...

Ruth Schiffmann said...

I'm often trying to figure out how I could minimize the number of directions I'm being pulled in. I feel just like the fellow in the picture looks. And I haven't figured out a solution as of yet.

Barbara Etlin said...

It's not the standard tasks of those jobs that conflict with each other. It's the way emergencies within each job seem to occur on the same day.

Anne M Leone said...

hehehe. My hubby stayed home sick yesterday, and about halfway through the day he asked me when I was going to stop working so we could eat bon bons together. ;)

Kelly Hashway said...

Mom, wife, author, editor--yeah, I feel like that guy. I'm holding on for dear life!

Tina Cho said...

I hear ya! I'm in the same boat. (Oh, I guess that's a cliche...goes with your previous post. haha) We try to do it all, and some of us have little to show for it. Some day.... But yes, I'm grateful for the opportunities I have.

D.E. Malone said...

I love that picture; it illustrates my life so perfectly. With two teens and a college-aged daughter living away from home, I'm acutely aware of my shifting roles, though. I'm less busy with the kid stuff (sadly), and more busy with my writing and volunteer work. And I am VERY thankful for this life no matter where my daily calendar leads me.

Marcia said...

I love that saying. Reminds me of the time my father came into my office and asked me if I only had the one chair. I said, "But Dad, I only have one butt." Thing is, my office now has three chairs. And no, my butt hasn't tripled in size, thank the Lord.

Don't bonbons involve ice cream? In which case I cannot promise I don't eat them.