Caution: Fresh Paint

Every couple of years our family takes on what we consider a major house renovation. Sometimes I think we only do it every couple of years because it takes us that long to save up enough money for whatever the project is. Then about midway through a project I remember that we only do it every couple of years because it is a LOT of work and it kind of cuts into my time for things that I really do enjoy doing year round.

The kids and I have had painting the house on the list. We've lived here seven years; it was time for a little TLC. We took this on as one of our Wednesday projects. Wednesdays, of late, have been days that we take off from going to the office in favor of something like a road trip or... for the month of October... home improvement. We still have a few shutters to rehang and some trim and doors to paint, but we were able to finish the bulk of the job today.

It was a lot of work, but it looks so much better! I came home this evening and was actually filled with pride just looking at the house (even in the near-dark!)

Anyway... that's my excuse for not getting much writing work done today! But my mind is now spilling over with ideas. One day of painting = several pages of material... at least!

I am fortunate to have three talented, hard working kids. I had a bit of a neck ache from all the looking up today, but didn't have to spend much actual time on a ladder myself. 

Award Winning Author in the Family

Bubbling over with news, events, excitement, work, writing... will one day catch up with myself enough to tell you all about it. In the meantime, sharing this photo of my son, Kaman Derek Simmons, age 12.

The certificate says, "For winning 1st place in the 2013 Kansas Book Festival Contest." Kaman entered an essay on the theme of perceptions of Kansas. His was titled, "Why do people think Kansas is flat in the first place?"

We travelled to Topeka a few weekends ago for him to get his award.

The Secret to Writing in Get 'er Done Mode

I had the pleasure of a lunch date with my son today. Kaman is 12 and he's a fantastic conversationalist. We talked about our current projects and activities; I asked questions and I learned a lot. I learned, for instance, about the possibility of launching a career in comedy via the internet (specifically, YouTube). I also gained a greater understanding of what he is learning in programming and what his ultimate goal is (to learn as much as possible about all the various possible applications of the programming language he is learning, which I think is Java Script).

Kaman asked me a lot of questions about my projects, as well. It is quite clear that he has been paying attention. He managed to query about every angle of my current, multi-faceted career(?) path. Let's just say he had a solid grasp of the things that are important to me and knows a considerable amount about what I spend my time doing.

One question he asked, was this, "If you were to quit working at the farmers market, and didn't need to work at dad's office anymore, would you just spend your time writing, writing, writing and publishing books?"

To which I answered, "Writing some; publishing little."

I had the luxury of time for many years. Sometimes I think of all the free time I had before I had kids... and how seriously I pursued writing through those years. I think I managed two or three magazine submissions and an award in a national short-short story contest. And I worked on a novel or two, of course. Endless starts and zero finishes.

It wasn't until my children came along that I started making true progress as a writer. It wasn't until I was the mother of three that I was regularly publishing pieces for fun and profit. And it wasn't until I was working two part-time jobs, as well as a fairly involved volunteer gig, and trying to keep up with two teens and a tween, that I finally managed to finish and publish a book.

I know it works differently for each person, but I feel little need to get things done when I have all the time in the world. It's when my life is full that I take the approach that I better get 'er done.

“It starts with this: put your desk in the corner, and every time you sit down there to write, remind yourself why it isn't in the middle of the room. Life isn't a support system for art. It's the other way around.”

― Stephen King, On Writing