Since my son was born a little over two weeks ago, I haven't had time to sit down to work on any new writing. It's not that I have a daily routine for writing like the more serious or dutiful writers, the ones that make a career out of writing. Right now my career job is being a father and husband when I'm at home. But I've learned that it's okay. I've gotten over the fact that the more my family grows the less time I have to write the way I was accustomed to in college, sitting down for hours on end. When my daughter was born almost four years ago, it took me some time to adjust that I couldn't seriously sit down in quiet and concentrate on writing. I began carrying around pad and paper to jot down ideas that would pop into my head while doing the laundry or right after tucking my daughter into bed, or I would grab the nearest scrap of paper and writing utensil to jot down a few lines to a kernel of a poem, saving the scraps in an envelope to work on or revise when I had more time. Being left handed makes it hard to bottle feed my son while writing, so I have been having to learn all over again how to channel the creative energy without feeling it's being stifled.
One thing I have been learning to appreciate more is living life. Though writing is a big part of me, I have to remind myself when I get frustrated at how little time I have to write that life is what inspires us all to create, to write. Playing Barbies with my daughter or taking my newborn son out in the warm sun of the front porch doesn't rob me of creative time or energy, but fortifies me. If I had to choose today between being a successful and famous writer and being a successful and loved father and husband, I would drop the pen and pick up a Ken doll. Thankfully I feel I can do both and feel satisfied. I guess it's a balance, all in good measure.
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