I was reminded this weekend of how stagnant I have become by both my mother and my husband. Each made an offhand comment that caused me to rumple my mouth in a chagrined, Kermit-The-Frog expression. It wasn’t their intent to embarrass me; they were just stating the facts.
I bought a book on Friday called “Your First Novel.” It looked like an interesting, practical guide to getting started on the true calling I continue to believe is buried in me somewhere under the layers of cotton wool and self-defeat. When I pulled it out of the bag to show R., he said, “Oh – a diet book for writing.” What I understood him to mean was that I have about thirty different diet books and a fat ass. Or, more politely, that I have a tendency to buy books about a subject but not actually follow through on their contents. I talk about wanting to be a writer; I do nothing about it. Buying this book is just another fruitless exercise in self-deception.
Yesterday, I was chatting with my mother and mentioned I was trying the “No-S Diet.” “Oh yes,” she said, “I remember you telling me about that a year or so ago.”
Is it any wonder my teeth ache constantly from my ever-clenched jaw? I am treading water, generating just enough buoyancy to keep my children afloat while I forget about my own interests in favor of freaking out about how there is no way I can cook Thanksgiving dinner with two small children so maybe we just won’t celebrate it this year. Bo-ring.
I see what is wrong with this picture, but how does anyone find time to put their own needs first while not sacrificing the growth and happiness of their kids? Do you just say “today I will skip this 4th round of dishes?”
My assignment for tonight is to write a blog entry completely unrelated to self-flagellation.
2 comments:
OMG- once again you have struck a nerve with me. I have procrastinated or put off "real writing" for so long now, that I am embarrassed to even talk about it with family members.
Let me know if you think the diet book is helpful at all. Or, we could set a deadline with each other to exchange Chapter 1. And we'll just have to work around the husbands, babies, and jobs (God love'em). Seriously, you definitely have the talent to write a book-- a good one.
forget about diets. your toddler's job is to make you chase after them and eat their soggy leftovers which removes fat. make sure they are doing their job. i have no doubt you're doing yours.
re: self-sacrifice... what indeed is the answer? when you discover it, please share. ten days just passed betwixt my most recent post and the previous one. and the blog is one of the things keeping my sanity, as proxy therapy, which means i'm not doing so well with therapy.
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