This is supposed to be the year of writing, the year of the Book. Tell that to the kids, the husband, the book group, the dog, the part-time job, the schools, and my home. None seems real supportive of my efforts. Progress made: None.
CNN has dissed me but I do have an editor in my address box, I've missed yet another deadline, and the number of original words written since school started is sitting at about 14. Oh well.
I did give a two hour presentation to a group of day care providers on the differences in parenting cultures- Eastern versus Western philosphies. It's a long story as to how that happened for me but suffice to say that is was fun, I got to talk, and they paid me. None of this was part of my original 2011 plan for Year of the Book.
What is happening is the formation of a group called ART. This stands for Andrew's Round Table and we are a group of concerned straight citizens who want to promote dialogue regarding the marriage amendment and what it could mean to Minnesotans. To that end, we have secured a young man by the name of Randy Potts to help us with our quest. Randy just happens to be the gay grandson of the late Oral Roberts. He has a heart-breaking and compelling story that puts yet one more face on the humanity of our mission. And lucky beyond measure, I am charged with the task of finding a venue in Winona for him to share this story, as well as seeing to the other details that go along with planning an event.
I guess I have made some progress....just not in the form of my original plan. This seems to be the way of the world...reality constantly butts into your personal agenda. The trick is rolling with it and soaking up unforeseen gifts and finding the grace in times of great personal challenge.
Randy Potts will be in Winona on October 24th no matter how little progress gets made on My Book. And I care so much that he is coming that it will be worth setting aside my own agenda to give myself over to this experience.
What I thought I would write and what needs to be written may not jive and maybe that's the point. The plan I had versus the one out there for me aren't the same and I am just too slow to recognize it. So my new plan is to not make one and take advantage of all that comes my way.
Isn't it crazy how constantly you have to walk that line with the creative process as well as with life... balancing the desire to commit and focus on the goal versus being flexible and taking what's coming towards you? When I was writing all of the time (before kids) I had the time and the energy to trust the process and let what wanted to be written come to me organically. But having kids has made me be more goal-oriented and schedule-focused in the hopes of being more efficient. The thing is that creativity, and parenting, requires both. And it seems to me when you're focus on goals, things happen to remind you to pull back and be more flexible. And then when you're not focused on a goal, things happen to remind you to focus and be more committed to your goals. Back and forth and back and forth. I too am constantly trying to balance that. I love reading your blog, and I'm looking forward to what comes next... with your book as well as the work that keeps pulling you away from it. Maybe they're all connected. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI've been teaching that way for 33 years now! Every weekend I come up with the next week's plan that will entice, inspire, and enrich young minds. I get to school, open my email, see the upcoming agenda that someone else has set for my week, and know instantly that my "best laid plans" will once again need to be somehow adjusted, and that I'll end up doing what I always seem to be doing. . .flying by the seat of my pants! You have lofty goals on varying levels, Lisa, but I'll bet that if you prioritize them and keep working to reach them in some sort of order, you'll not just reach them all. . .you'll champion them! Good luck. . .and keep telling us about it!! MC
ReplyDelete