Thursday, May 26, 2005

Mommy, I Don't Want You to be a Writer

The title of this blog almost sounds like a bad Country Western song. However, you know you are spending a lot of time on-line or writing when your seven-year old son looks at you one night and says: "I want you to come outside and stop working on the computer all the time!" (This is a month, I should point out, that has been the wettest, coldest May on record in New England--that said, there have been a few good "outdoor" days...I've just chosen to avoid them.) So I answered Henry in more of an attempt at justification than anything else: "I know I spend a lot of time in my office but I'm writing a lot or trying to."

"I don't want you to be a writer."

He does have a point. The gardens and empty pots are waiting for something to be put in them. Memorial Day Weekend looms as do the ever-present laundry piles. But I felt what he said more deeply. I do need to regulate my time writing and balance it with things like household stuff and gardening and more quality time with my children. This is the season to be outside and I should embrace it. Besides, have laptop will travel. I've been wanting to plug it in out on our patio while the kids play outside...but that will have to wait until the tomatoes are planted and garden beds tended and mulched and black flies have gone again.

Unfortunately, I am not the kind of mother or writer who can schedule things very well and then regiment myself. I can work around a school schedule, which I often do with our kids, but my ideas and inspirations are not limited to 9am-1pm. So, like Emily Dickinson and her pantry poems (see EMILY'S DICKINSON's PANTRY, in April 2005 Archives, at right), I write snippets of things here and there when I'm doing other things, like working in the kitchen. Call it "domestic multi-tasking".

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi there, a real useful blog. I was just out blog surfing for detailed info on shaker furniture wood working plans when I ended up on your page. Obviously Mommy, I Don't Want You to be a Writer is not exactly what I was searching for, but your site caught my interest. Just wanted to drop a quick note to comment your blog...now to move on and continue my search for shaker furniture wood working plans.
Should the need ever arise where you need information on shaker furniture wood working plans then drop by for a look.

Anonymous said...

Hi C herine, your blog is excellent. As I was surfing around today looking for detailed info on mlcs wood working I ended up on your page. As your Mommy, I Don't Want You to be a Writer is not exactly related to my search, I am certainly glad I stopped by. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to post your link on my "favorites" page. Should you ever need
information about mlcs wood working, then stop by for a look. Thanks for the post.

Anonymous said...

Hi C herine, your blog is excellent. As I was surfing around today looking for detailed info on wood working dust collector I ended up on your page. As your Mommy, I Don't Want You to be a Writer is not exactly related to my search, I am certainly glad I stopped by. If you wouldn't mind, I would like to post your link on my "favorites" page. Should you ever need
information about wood working dust collector, then stop by for a look. Thanks for the post.

Anonymous said...

Hi there, a real useful blog. I was just out blog surfing for detailed info on wood working for kids when I ended up on your page. Obviously Mommy, I Don't Want You to be a Writer is not exactly what I was searching for, but your site caught my interest. Just wanted to drop a quick note to comment your blog...now to move on and continue my search for wood working for kids.
Should the need ever arise where you need information on wood working for kids then drop by for a look.

Anonymous said...

Hi there, a real useful blog. I was just out blog surfing for detailed info on wood working bench plan when I ended up on your page. Obviously Mommy, I Don't Want You to be a Writer is not exactly what I was searching for, but your site caught my interest. Just wanted to drop a quick note to comment your blog...now to move on and continue my search for wood working bench plan.
Should the need ever arise where you need information on wood working bench plan then drop by for a look.

Anonymous said...

Hi C herine, I liked your blog. Just out blog surfing looking for info on wood working bench plan when I ended up on your page. Obviously I ended up a little off base, but I am certainly glad I found it. I would like to post your link on my "favorites" page for future reference and reading. Should you ever need it, you can get specific information about wood working bench plan at the site above.

Anonymous said...

Hi there, a real useful blog. I was just out blog surfing for detailed info on mlcs wood working when I ended up on your page. Obviously Mommy, I Don't Want You to be a Writer is not exactly what I was searching for, but your site caught my interest. Just wanted to drop a quick note to comment your blog...now to move on and continue my search for mlcs wood working.
Should the need ever arise where you need information on mlcs wood working then drop by for a look.

Anonymous said...

Hi C herine, After searching page after page about home painting I ran across your blog Mommy, I Don't Want You to be a Writer which caught my attention because, of the amount of valuable and informative information you have. Unfortunately home painting is not exactly what I was looking for, however I enjoyed reading all your information. Thanks for the reading.

Anonymous said...

Bloggs are such a wonderful way to plublish ones thoughts. Thanks for letting me visit and leave a comment. Love the title, "Mommy, I Don't Want You to be a Writer" Come by my site some time. It's got rose gardening related stuff.