Up at six, took one child to HS at 6:30; came home and picked up 6th grader and toddler. Drop 6th grader at middle school, then toddler at Head Start. Return home and hit keyboard until noon. Pick up toddler; back at work by 1pm after lunch. Pick up other two at 3pm; resume writing until 6pm. Break for dinner. Resume writing around 8pm; put toddler in bath at 9, then bed. Nag teens to bed at 10; write until midnight. Log word count and go to bed.- Whoa! What the hell-?
(needle scratch)
In what alternate reality was that? You expect me to believe your kids were perfect angels while you wrote all day long?
That was how it was supposed to go. Here's what REALLY happened!
Up at six; took one teen to HS at 6:30. Came back and nagged 2nd teen to wake up while getting toddler out of bed. Screaming match 5 minutes before leaving house, and usually catching train. Dropped off teen #2 just in time for tardy bell or blatantly late. Dropped toddler at Head Start; returned home and begin writing.
Pick up toddler at noon, and have lunch. Distract toddler with TV, toys, etc, or nap, and resume writing, interrupted every few minutes to make sure toddler is still in house or not doing what he's not supposed to.
3pm: Pick up teens and negotiate computer rights. Write in longhand if teen needs computer for homework. This usually involves a timer, if teen decides to also play a game or update MySpace.
6pm: Start dinner.
8pm: Kids watching TV; resume writing.
9pm: Put toddler in bath and put one teen in charge of him. Keep writing.
10pm: Send everyone to bed. Write until midnight, then log word count and go to bed.
By the third week, teen #2 was out and out refusing to get up in the morning. In desperation, I went to her principal and ended up having a mini-meltdown in his office. Afterward, I think that's when it hit me; I was trying to do too much at once. Single parenthood doesn't come easy to me, and when the spouse would return on the weekends, I'd lose all the power I'd accrued during the week, plus he expected me to spend all day Sunday washing his clothing. And the kids complained about my short-temperedness. By the end of November, I'd turned into someone even I didn't recognize, and didn't like what I saw.
So this year, while I'm hitting it hard, I've relaxed the pressure. My goal isn't to WIN NaNo, with 50K words logged. I'll consider it a success if I have at least 30K, or at least can see the ending of Lynne's story.
I probably won't be around much this month, other than posting the BWSNBNS posts, Hump Day Hop posts, and of course, the Friday Flashback. Have a great day:)
8 comments:
While I don't completely understand NaNo, I can most certainly relate to this article. I raised four while my husband repeatedly went on deployment, holding down a full time job while holding down the fort. It sure can get frustrating!
LOL. I've never done NaNo and this is the reason why. Now, when I have the time and can schedule, who needs the stress?
Good luck, Mollie!
I've done the nano six years in a row, and I had only one child to deal with. But she didn't like to get up either, so I can imagine how rough you have it.
@Tamara: I honestly don't know which is worse sometimes: Him being gone 5 days a week, or being home 24/7! Both have their perks and downfalls. It's an adjustment:)
@Liz: Thanks Liz:) I think I'm one of the few women out there who are looking forward to the 'empty nest'. Mine's still ten years away.
@Janice: Good for you! Thankfully, the youngling can be bribed out of bed with Jimmy Dean Griddle Cakes with Sausage:) Esp when he goes to bed on time.
I've also adjusted my word count goals accordingly, to keep my sanity. Great post Molly, and cheers to us all this month.
@Naomi: Thanks for stopping by! I've decided I don't want to be 'ready for my padded cell' at the end of the month, ha ha:)
I never attempted NaNo before. But I decided I needed to write something completely different and this has turned out to be the nudge I needed to get started. I'm having a blast!
@Barb: Yay:) Good for you!
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