...I pour myself a cup of ambition, yawn and stretch and try to come to life...
As we head into another week - one that isn't full of doctor's appointments for a change, I thought this would be a good time to answer a question I've been asked a lot lately: "How do you do it all?" I think the best way to answer that is...I have no idea. Lots of caffeine?
But more realistically, here's what a typical productive weekday looks like for me.
6:25am: The alarm goes off for the first time. Mornings are the hardest part of the day for me because with PTSD, I don't always sleep well. I dream often, and most of my dreams are frightening, confusing, or both. Also, peri-menopause means night sweats, and lots of them.
6:45am: The second alarm goes off. Due my problems with getting adequate, restful sleep, I will often have fallen back to sleep after the first alarm, so this second one helps to make sure I get my kid to school on time.
7:00am: This is the last one, and by the time this alarm goes off, I'm either already awake enough to at least get out of bed, or angry enough at the alarm that the frustration sends me stomping drunkenly to the bathroom. I've got spina bifida and a host of other back problems, so mornings are stiff for me - this is when my balance is at its worst, and the fact that my brain is still in an absolute fog rarely helps.
7:10am: Wake up my younger daughter while trying desperately not to wake the oldest. My oldest is even more grouchy than I am in the mornings, and we don't interact well before the sun rises. The youngest, however, usually springs out of bed full of life and ready to have sixteen conversations at once, so I get her going, grumble instructions to get up, get ready, do the things, and then escape to the quiet of my own bedroom.
8:00am: Pop the cap on a Monster Zero Ultra (because Covid left me unable to tolerate either the taste or smell of coffee and I'm still trying to avoid diabetes but can't survive without caffeine) and hop in the car, headed off to drop the youngest off for school.
8:20am: My cousin calls for our daily check-in.
9:10am: I'm back home, off the phone, and ready to start the day.
11:00am: By this time, my brain is awake, my back is hurting, and I'm usually finished with my daily dose of social media interaction. I'm not a fan of social media in general because people are hateful, but hey, be the change you want to see, right? So on my own social pages, I post quotes I love, along with little tidbits about my life and experiences - and on other people's pages, I seek out posts on personal development, self-empowerment, faith, crafts, books, motherhood...you get the drift. I try to interact with a few posts every day. They call it social for a reason, I guess. The hope with this is that since I'm out there and I'm active, someone will actually hear me screaming into the void when I finish my plan and begin to publish again. I might take a break to move my legs, stop the blood from pooling frighteningly in my left foot, and get some breakfast. Frequently, I skip breakfast because being allergic to so many things means meals are often more complicated than I care to bother with.
12:00pm: Finished with the social media side, I'm ready to get into the writing side of my day, which lately has meant staring at my computer until my eyes cross. Line editing is not fun at all, it takes forever and feels like I'm getting nowhere. But you guys, the second edition of FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM is so good. Like so, so good. I know I keep saying that, but every time I sit down with this book, I'm more proud of it. Believing so much in this story but having to shelve it until I complete my plan is going to be one of the hardest things I've ever made myself do...but I believe in my plan too, so I'll do my best to stick with it. I hope you all think it's worth the waiting.
3:00pm: Hopefully I've checked all my writing boxes for the day, but most days I haven't. Either way, I've got to stop and go get my little one from school, which means a mandatory break. This usually works out because by now, my blood is pooled in my left foot again, my back is screaming, my eyes are blurry, and since I have a weird habit of sitting with my right leg curled up under me, my right foot hurts too. So I get up super carefully, wait until my feet and legs promise to cooperate, and dash out the door.
4:00pm: Back home again, and hoping to get a little more accomplished before dinner. There have been interruptions sprinkled throughout the day - phone calls, texts, chats with my oldest daughter, potty breaks (some for me, some for the dog) - but those were nothing compared to the evenings at my house. Some days are easier than others, but there are days when, even though my kids are older, I can barely take a breath without one of my girls standing right there to smell it. Sometimes it's frustrating, but most of the time I'm grateful. These frustrating moments are the ones where I realize that I did something right. My kids are older, so the fact that they're always RIGHT THERE means they choose to be. And that's a blessing.
6:00pm: If I haven't already finished for the day (usually I have) then it's time for another break. We have dinner, get the dog fed, and get into the nightly routine of medical management, teeth-brushing, shower-taking, etc. If writing wasn't finished for the day, then I'm back at it; if I was finished, then I'll hang with the girls for a while or spend some time reading or crocheting.
Bedtime: Once the girls are both settled for the night and the mom-duties are finished, this is when I get a little time that's all my own. Usually, this is when I spend a little time with God, checking in after the day, reading my Bible, and giving thanks for another day. Then I head for the shower, spend a little time reading in bed afterward to let my back settle, and try to get some sleep because if I'm lucky, another day is on the horizon.
What's your typical day look like?
*song lyric from "9 to 5," Dolly Parton
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