I'm Calling It A Victory. Honest, I Am.

[dr_pretentious]

This afternoon, with Gareth wide awake and perched on my knee, I started work on a new story and produced actual pages of new writing. I've marked up lots of manuscripts for revision since October, and done a lot of research for projects new and old, but this is the first day of truly fresh output since the baby was born.

It bugs me that this is such a big deal, because for several years I produced an average of five pages a day, seven days a week. And it bugs me that it took me almost four months to get to this point, because everyone tells me that once Gareth starts walking, everything is going to get a lot harder. My mother tells me I started walking when I was nine months old, so I have this feeling that the clock is ticking away, and I only have five months to accomplish whatever I'm going to get done in 2008.

Probably it's not as dire as all that, and anyhow, panic does not make me work faster or better. I need to stop seeing the time between now and Gareth's first steps as the writing equivalent of a sprint, and to reframe it as a marathon.

Maybe I should clear a new space among all the other things that are already magnetized to my refrigerator, so I can put up a picture of that runner who won the New York Marathon right after giving birth to her daughter.

Comments

[annathepiper]

Congrats on kicking out new content. :) Especially with your wee one! Go you!

[jasminewind.livejournal.com]

Congratulations, you are still YOU! :-)

Productivity happens when you work and parent, in fact, I bet my cumulative productivity is higher than it was pre-kid. However, my total WORK productivity is lower. This keeping in mind that I have had part-time nannies and preschool for all of my kids' lives. I'm sure people who have work days of comparable pre-kid length still get the same amount done.

[kistha.livejournal.com]

It will all work out. Balance, balance.

And, fabu news on the new stuff!

[catpaw67.livejournal.com]

Everyone told me the same thing. They said, "When R is walking you'll be too busy to do anything but watch her." Totally untrue. We gated the whole main floor, and she had the run of it. We took the obvious precautions, with the electrical sockets (I'm happy to give you our extras if I can find them) and padding the sharper corners. And she mostly entertained herself when I was working on other things. I'm not going to say it was totally incident-free. There was the time I looked up to see her standing on the top part of the 6' tall cat tree (!!!!). But she seems to have survived. As did I with similar constraints and protections.

Every kid is different. Keep telling yourself that, and all will be well. *hugs* and congrats!

[happy-dr-friend.livejournal.com]

And it bugs me that it took me almost four months to get to this point, because everyone tells me that once Gareth starts walking, everything is going to get a lot harder

Not necessarily. Critter gets easier the older she gets. Gareth's attention span will get longer and he'll be able to play on his own more as he gets older. Plus his naps will start being something like 1-1 1/2 hours twice a day instead of 15 minutes 10X a day, so you'll be able to concentrate longer while he sleeps. YMMV, as they say, but I wouldn't assume that things will get harder. IMHO, NOTHING is harder than pregnancy and you did that fine.

[sligoe.livejournal.com]

You'll find your routine---the one that works for all of you---and you'll be fine. Don't push yourself or Gareth, and you'll find what works best for all of you.

Every one of my kids (all four!) got to sit on the floor in front of some pipe organ or another while I played for church services. They sat in their baby seats while I practiced, they came along with me to rehearsals, they latched themselves onto me when I was in the kjitchen. I found my quiet time---time alone---after they had gone to bed, or during nap times. It was a little more difficult when I had a full time job and part time hobs, but I still managed. And my kids are no worse off for the wear---in fact, they had a reat advantage over other kids of their ages in that they were much more able to accept change and go with the flow. They also got to go to some really cool places and met lots of nice people who taught them that everyone is alike, down deep, where it counts.

Some things will have to be put on the back burner---but only for a while, until you can get back to them. Nothing lasts forever, and you'll soon be doing things that you want and need to do with no interruption---and you'll be wondering where the time went! :)

Hugs!

[violet-moon25.livejournal.com]

Congrads on getting back to writing. Your stories are always a pleasure to read.
Toddlers are hard...lots of energy, no judgment. But it gets better. Andrew just turned 2 and the last 3-6 months have made a huge difference. You will be amused to know one of his many new words is "tie-dye"

[mystcphoenxcafe.livejournal.com]

Greetings!

Congrats on the new writing! :-)

You're quite wise to simply relax and let things be what they will be. They never seem to be anything else anyway - so why stress? :-D

-Katrina