Happy New Year! The season of over-eating, over-sleeping, and in the case of my family, over-sneezing, coughing, hacking and being miserable, is over (for me at least!) and it's time to get back to the things that matter. Like the romance weekly blog hop. If you've made your way here from the slightly-nutty, but ever-so-wonderful Sarah Hegger, welcome!
For those of you making your first stop on the hop with me today, we're talking what a normal day in the life is, when we're not writing.
I wish I were one of those awesome authors who could proudly claim that not a day goes by that I don't write, but sadly, that's not true. Oh, I have aspirations of writing every day but as you'll see in my thoughts below, that doesn't always happen.
I have three dedicated writing days a week, when the wee one gets shipped to a sitter. The plan is to fit some writing into the other days. I'm going to tell you what a normal Monday is like for me. I should note that there are two things that take up my life: writing and mothering. So if I'm not writing about a day spent writing, I will be writing about a day spent mothering.
Our day begins when hubby has to wake for work. We are very lucky to have a two year old that sleeps in. So we are rarely up before 8. Monday's fall after the weekend (in case you didn't know) and so it's my first day of the new week with just me and wee one, no helping hands in sight. Normally once hubby leaves the house I call my parents, who live about a two minute drive (10 minute walk) away. Here's how that convo goes:
Me: Good morning, my mother.
Mom: Good morning, my daughter. What time is it?
Me: 9. (I'm not allowed to call before 9.)
Mom: Are you coming for tea?
Me: Yes please. And toast and eggs and bacon.
Mom: You're getting tea and crackers.
Me: Your grandson wants yogurt.
I hang up and debate between walking and driving. If it's cold, or wet, I'll drive. If I'm feeling like we could both use a dose of fresh air, we walk.
See the river? We love our river. And running along it.
The walk is wonderful. There's a path that runs between our houses that goes through the woods, along the river. When the wee one was a babe, and not a toddler, I'd strap him on to my chest in our awesome Boba baby carrier and that's how we'd walk. Now it's more of a slow meander while we stop to jump in puddles, listen to birds, and play hide and seek. Now, don't go thinking my life is super idyllic. Three times out of four, we drive.
The morning is spent hanging out with my parents, who are sometimes semi-retired. Even if they have to go to work, they don't head in to the city till 11, so it's always a nice visit. Oh, and there's normally bacon and eggs cooking when we arrive. My parents rock.
A visit to Nan and Pop's house is always better when there are cousins there as well. My parents are "lucky" to have both their daughters live a ridiculously short distance from them. It makes our kids happy.
By lunchtime, we're home. I like to cook so making lunch is no biggie for us. Homemade Mac and Cheese is always a hit, or a quick pot of creamy soup (you can't go wrong with root veg, onions, garlic, wine and chicken broth). Once we've eaten and the house looks like it's been hit by a cyclone it's time for the "will he, won't he nap" dance to begin. Some days this is an easy feat. Other days, it's a two hour challenge.
Once he naps, I can finally get some work done. Because even if I'm not having a writing day, I am a self-published author so there's a heck of a lot of non-writing work that I have to do. Marketing, blogging, Facebook (yea, Facebook can be work), accounting, PR, strategizing ideas for future projects, thinking about the work-in-progress, and emails. Luckily, wee one's naps are always two hours long. So that's good for me.
When he wakes it's time to play and figure out supper. Supper is always a bit of a challenge because our son has picked up on the fact that Mommy loves to cook and Daddy loves to bake. Therefore, in his two year old eyes, being in the kitchen is the greatest fun there is. It gets messy. And loud.
By the time hubby gets home supper is half-made, I'm ready to break out the wine, and the wee one is blissfully rolling in ingredients on the floor, chasing the cats and trying to force them to eat God only knows what.
We barbecue a lot. Really. Even in the snow. Because cooking outdoors is fun. And clean. And eating outdoors is even better.
Life with a toddler is a blur, honestly. I have vague ideas of things that are supposed to happen during the day, and even more vague notions of not really understanding how some things got done, and others didn't.
Still, I have to admit that balancing a full-time writing career with a toddler is much easier than it was with an infant. I'm holding out hopes that by the time he's three or four, we'll have a much more productive schedule worked out. I can't help but feel that if we had a fenced yard I could toss him outside to play blissfully while I worked. But so far, most of my toddler-work management ideas have failed.
Lately, I'm just embracing the time I have with him, writing be damned.
Now, if that hasn't bored you to tears and you're still with me, why not go visit my friend, Gemma Brocato (who will be hanging out at my Facebook release party on Sunday—see the link below!). I bet Gemma's day is much more fabulous than mine. Certainly it should be neater.
Don't miss the Facebook release party for Geek Groom - This Sunday!
Click the image below to join the event.
