Whack! I finish a draft of my book. Hooray! Uh, oh. Up pops a deadline for a proposal.Whack! I get an ophthalmologist appointment out of the way. Hooray! Uh, oh. Up pops three follow-up eye appointments and a prescription to take to the pharmacy.
Whack! I clear enough work from my schedule that I can spend my weekend on chores. Hooray! Uh, oh. Up pops a cold that immobilizes me for both days.
I wish that, like the kids’ game, there were only four moles in my Whac-A-Mole life. But instead, the moles seem limitless. Anything I shove into my tight schedule pops something else out. Now that I work on my fiction every weekday, moles are flying everywhere.
Exercise? I think it landed behind the couch.
Hobbies? Duck! Some chores just went flying.
Reading about the craft of writing? Only at the expense of actual writing and chores my husband wishes I would do.
Reading in my genre to stay abreast of trends? In doctors’ waiting rooms and just before bed when I’m too tired to do anything else.
Reading for fun? I look forward to getting so sick that I can’t do anything more strenuous than hold a book.
Does anyone else lead a Whac-A-Mole life? Anybody have any hints for stuffing more moles into a 24-hour box?
15 comments:
Sounds like the proverbial "when it rains it pours" situation. Good luck with everything.
I had a nice long weekend free of whack a moles but often that seems exactly what my life is like when I'm working. Today is a good example. Great metaphor. I hope things calm down for you.
Wow. That's about as close a description to a writer's life as I've ever heard. I'm going to get me a mole-whacing mallet and knock them right back down where they came from!
Thanks, SIDNEY. I suspect you have lots of whack-a-moles right now with your writing and classes.
CHARLES, I'm planning to spend several days in Las Vegas in December with my sister, so that will be a welcome break.
Good idea, RICK! I need one of those mallets too!
Whenever I have a quiet stretch in my life I know that there are those little moles just waiting to pop up. Your life should settle in a little while as Mercury is going Direct today.
Let's see, I'm 1)taking over my tattoo shop, 2) finishing my novel, 3) moving house (again), 4) learning a new piercing technique and 5) working double my normal hours at work.
I use two hammers at once!
Ah, perfect. That's exactly what I feel my life has become this past year: a game of Whack-a-Mole. Exactly. I wish I had a clue about how to help you stuff those moles back in the box--sorry.
If I get any "inside" information, I'll let you know. :-)
BARBARA, that's good news. I could use a little calm before a busy November.
I bow to you, STEVE, King of Whack-A-Moles.
MICHELLE, hope you get a break soon.
Very interesting analogy. The person who finds the answer should write a book and share with the rest of us!
Just had to come back and read this again. Too interesting!
Yes, and the Whack a Mole thing is getting worse. Not a day goes by when I don't think of Wordsworth's poem: "The world is too much with us;late and soon, Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers: Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given away our hearts, a sordid boon!"
Ah...as they say, "your inbox is never empty."
I avoid the whack a mole life by having no kids, a part time job & minimal etc. activities. I'm lucky to be able to have a serene existence. I know it & I appreciate it every day.
I'm w/Lana. I've made choices (& had stuff happen) so that my life is pretty simplified. And yet....
I say, let some chores go and make yourself and your art/your craft your priorities. Above all: take care of your health!
Hope you feel better.
We haven't heard from you for awhile. did the moles launch a counterattack.
Wow, I've really gotten behind in answering comments. Sorry, friends.
RAE ANN, I'd buy that book the instant it came off the press.
RICK, glad you enjoyed it so much, and thanks for checking on me. You're right, it was those darn moles. I whacked down a bunch of Priority One moles, only to have lots of Priority Two and Priority Three moles jump up. It's on my list to visit blogs tomorrow, so I'll be by yours then.
BILLY, too true.
LANA, I collect activities like a fuzzy black sweater collects lint. Before I got serious about writing, I was buried under because I was always practicing my harps and recorders, rehearsing, and performing. And before that, it was quilting and making bread.
CARLEEN, thanks for your good wishes and good advice.
Post a Comment