...that, when viewed from the outset, they seem to stretch on forever. So many plans and resolutions, so much to accomplish! There are Chapters to write, curtains to sew, sweaters to knit, meals to prepare, and hey, that bathroom's not gonna clean itself!
This weekend I set up a new computer/sewing table at the cottage, so I finally have a somewhat more private place in which to write. Of course, by 'private' what I really mean is that yes, I CAN shut the door, and yes, the kids will still keep knocking on said door and calling out "Mom!"
The whole concept of a weekend is something that never loses its appeal, even as I age. It still means "Freedom!", just like it did when we were twelve and class was letting out for the last time on Friday afternoon. Of course now it's the after work commute, shopping, dinner and the long drive to the cottage. We don't actually settle in for the night till nearly Leno-time.
Just the same, Friday is Friday. It's good on mere principal.
Saturday morning is theoretically the heart of 'writing time'. Did I write yesterday morning? No. Instead the family and I took the car for a much-deferred oil change, bought my new writing/sewing desk, and then I spent the balance of the day re-arranging the small room at the cottage where the desk was to sit and constructing the desk itself.
One extremely aching back and case of severe exhaustion followed this process, which took me straight to time to prepare dinner for the family. After dinner, the only thing I was capable of was collapsing on the couch to watch a couple of terrific movies while knitting.
Which leaves only Sunday for writing. Sunday morning in our house is invariably filled with reams of homework. With two school-aged children, the dining room table is barely visible under the stacks of workbooks and language dictionaries. Mandarin, French, Science, Math, -- all you parents out there will know exactly what I mean.
By noon, I am even more ready to pack it in than our kids are! How do you say "Just shoot me!" in Mandarin? Then it's time to get lunch for the family.
Of course you've probably caught on by now to the fact that this 'blant' (blog-rant) is a thinly disguised evasion tactic to avoid finally settling down to churn out those Chapters. By now my poor brain is so pummeled that it seems impossible that it might manage to actually latch onto a 'creative thought' and get down to work!
Yes, the true nature of weekends is a tragic thing. They are all too brief in their splendour, and all too manic in their hawking promise of 'relaxation'.
That being said, it's time to write!
Donna Carrick Sunday, May 3, 2009
