A Wet Laundry Left in the Washer Kind of Obsession

Mom called today. As soon as I heard her voice practically sing "hello", I cringed in guilt. The guilt became even heavier as she continued to say, "I looked in my phone and realized the last time I spoke to you was on the 1st, so I thought I'd call and see how you were doing."

Sorry, Mom!

I used to be a master at juggling a zillion different obligations. Running my mommy group, being a mom, being a wife, being a good friend, calling my mom, sister, and gram, cleaning my house, grocery shopping and other errands, paying bills, balancing the check book, etc, etc, etc. Since I started writing? Let's just say, I am preoccupied. *grin* I know my writer friends understand.

Now I find myself thinking about my characters rather than calling my mother. I play in my made up world and forget about that load of wet laundry sitting in the washer. I sit before my computer, brainstorming how I can improve this or that scene, rather than getting out to meet my girlfriends for lunch. I don't intend to be like this, I just can't help myself.

I am consumed with a passion that I cannot believe I missed out on for so long.

The closer my very first WIP gets to being finished, the more I find myself focusing solely on it and blocking out any outside distractions. Thank goodness my beautiful 5 year old son is so incredibly intelligent. He knows to get my attention when  I am writing, he must physically put his hands on my face and turn my head until I meet his eyes. *guilty cringe* I haven't lost all sense though. To control this obsessive tendency, I allow myself a strict 5 hour window of writing time during the day ending no later than 5pm. If I cheat and get up in the middle of the night to get in a few more hours, well everyone else is asleep and cannot see me, now can they. *yawn* *laughs*

I owe my husband a huge thank you for all of the support he gives me by keeping my son occupied, helping with the dishes, and listening to me go on and on about this or that aspect of my story. He is amazing and I thank God for that blue dress that caught his attention 6.5 years ago. I love you, babe.

Do you struggle with balancing your obsession with writing and your daily life? Is the obsession winning, or like me, have you managed to set and follow some rules to keep things balanced? I truly hope you have an amazing support system in your significant other, parents, and friends as I do. Mine laugh at me, roll their eyes, and continue to love me, despite my obsession.

Comments

  1. Hehe, I can so relate to this post. I'm thankful my washer has a little alarm on it so it keeps going off at 5 minute intervals until I remove the wet clothes. ;)

    new follower.

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    1. Thanks for the follow, Lyn. I definitely need to talk to my hubbie about investing in one of those 'alarmed' washers.

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  2. Right beside you...but you already know that. ;)

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  3. Hahahaha!!!! This is SO my life every day! Ohhhh man... I love it ;)

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    1. I was sitting at my computer before the call from my mother wondering what to blog about as I hadn't written a new blog in a few days. Then her phone call came. The guilt was enough to get my muse to talking!

      Glad you enjoyed it.

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  4. All the time. I recently noticed that I'm pulling 16 hour editing days. Every day. For weeks.

    Now I'm trying to cut down before I go nuts, but when I catch myself, I'm back to the insane time spent grunting monosyllable answers and wishing people would stop trying to distract me.

    And then I feel bad and try again.

    I'm sounding like a junkie in rehab.

    Anyway... Hi. Just wanted to drop by because we share the same campaign group. :-)

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    1. Hi Misha, It's nice to meet you. I know the feeling exactly. I look forward to seeing you around the campaign trail.

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  5. Ohhh I so struggle with balance lately! Like your little guy, I have two small boys that have to pull me away from the computer sometimes. I've really been trying to spend more time with them, to allot time for blogging and writing and mommying and make sure I prioritize and have that necessary balance! So nice that you have such a supportive hubby. I'm so glad mine is supportive too. :D

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    1. Isn't it hard, though? I find myself thinking about that scene I am working on while playing with my son. Drives me insane! I will admit, that seeing others that are just like me, makes me feel better. *grin* *high-five to your hubbie* for being so supportive.

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