I have simply run out of hours in the day.
With both kids home, and me making a committed effort to engage them and keep them busy, I seem to have run out of time for other things.
I've been researching ducks so I can teach Sheridan the different ducks he sees at the park, and other activities designed to help keep an attention deficit kid engaged in the world around him, instead of disappearing into a Wii game. And then there is the complication of the five year old autistic kid needing her own forms of engagement, and trying to do that without the eight year old disrupting it.
I have lots of projects for both of them, but they require my participation so that has pretty much become my life right now. Everything else is getting kind of crowded out, as even my couple of quiet hours between the time they go to bed and the time I do is now dominated by me researching ways and means of dealing with each kiddo in the best way to suit there needs.
Not to mention, there have been several nights I just threw in the towel and went to bed at the same time they did because I was exhausted.
So writing and blogging and related things has been crowded off into a corner by these little guys, and it looks like there isn't going to be a lot I can do about that till school starts again. Oh well, I will do my best.
Anyways, that's what's up.
Consider this time a research period. Who knows when you might be able to use kinds of ducks as a background in a story? Or any of the other items that you are working on for children. Not to mention, you can portray children in your stories in a much more realistic light because you've dealt with them as little people and not just as stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteAnd when it all comes down to it - the legacy you leave will be in your children even more than in your writing.
Sounds like my world, except mine are 2 and 8 :). Active parenting is a 24/7 job. As opposed to passive parenting, which lets them disappear into Wii, Xbox, TV, whatever. Thanks for doing the hard work! Your kids will appreciate it forever (even if they don't express it so clearly now :)).
ReplyDeleteTrue parenting needs heroes :).
And, like Stephanie said, that will give you good story-material when that story-hero has to scrape for the last bit of energy to face the inevitable next-challenge . . . :)