I went to school to be a teacher. In fact, I have a B.S. in Education, not journalism.
Due to the hours and holidays, teaching is traditionally thought to be the best work for a mother who wants to keep one foot in the mommy-door and one foot in the career-door. This thought, paired with my love for | | children and learning, led me to life inside the schoolhouse doors.
Soon though, writing, not teaching, became my real "full time job," and it's been years since I set foot behind a teacher's podium.
There are times I miss teaching and regret I haven't used my diploma more, but who am I kidding -- freelance writing has to be the best situation for a stay-at-home mother: I get paid, I do something I love, and I don't leave the kids. What's more I can stay in my pajamas all morning!
Sometimes people ask if the lack of structure and absence of a physical "office" bother me and make it hard to concentrate. Sure, I get sidetracked watching a great episode of Rolie Polie Olie with my son every now and then, and I take long, leisurely breaks to chat on the phone or go to lunch, but this isn't because I "work at home," it's because I'm an artist.
I only write when inspired and when it "feels right." Even if I sat behind a desk all day, I'd still piddle around and get distracted -- it's my nature to jump from project-to-project, then zero-in on a particular piece when the mood strikes me. This is the artist in me. Just as a painter cannot be told, "Paint, now!" a writer cannot sit in front of a blank screen and expect great things to flow.
My best pieces, in fact, are written while I do such things as stand in line at the grocery store and wait at a red light, or during a commercial break from Oprah.
As I'm sure any artist can relate, I usually get a "feeling" when I have a great story brewing in my mind. This is, I think, the blessing and curse of creativity, because sometimes that "feeling" comes in the middle of a dinner party or at two o'clock in the morning and I have to race to find paper and jot my thoughts down. My husband has grown accustomed to me running in the door, heading straight to the computer and yelling as I go, "Can't talk....got a story on my mind....need to get it on paper!"
So, while I love this profession for its adaptability with the children and being a mother, sometimes the unpredictable nature of my creativity poses a few problems. For instance, if inspiration causes me to stay up until 3 a.m. writing a great column, I'm little use to my high-energy children a few hours later when they get up at the crack-of-dawn.
Yes, I have the luxury of lounging in my pajamas and not going to an "office," but I struggle with the spontaneous nature of this business and the chaotic schedule it sometimes poses for my children and me.
I guess though, even if things were different and my life was more |
| | up at the crack-of-dawn.
Yes, I have the luxury of lounging in my pajamas and not going to an "office," but I struggle with the spontaneous nature of this business and the chaotic schedule it sometimes poses for my children and me.
I guess though, even if things were different and my life was more structured, I'd still be a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of girl...that's just the life of an artist.
About The Author
++You may reprint the above column on your website so long as the following is included the URL address is actively hyperlinked back++
THIS MUST BE INCLUDED: Copyright 2004 Sarah Smiley http://www.SarahSmiley.com - Sarah Smiley's syndicated column Shore Duty appears weekly in newspapers across the country.
sarah@sarahsmiley.com
This article was posted on June 30, 2004 |
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