Sep 1, 2011

Transformations

by Susan G. Haws

I wish I had a magic wand. So many tasks I could complete with just a wave and a spell. With mundane tasks out of the way I could spend more time on activities such as writing. Don't get me wrong I am thankful for washers and dryers and all the other devices that have been invented to make life easier, and I love, love, love the air conditioners and my computer.

If I had a wand I wouldn't just mop the floor, pull the weeds or cook dinner I would also wave away pounds and pounds of fat. I would also help out others and maybe take a trip to the Caribbean. But let's go back to the house work and the fat. They are obstacles I must eliminate on my path to my goals. But I have no wand. Really, this is why I want to build my own fantasy worlds and move into a sea side mansion in one of them.

I read somewhere that a person must learn from his enemies. Fat is definitely my enemy. I must need to learn from it. Otherwise it would be easy to transform myself physically into a fit person.

Mundane chores that take time and effort like lawn mowing and laundry also feel like obstacles or enemies. I need to get control over them and my time. I need to  focus what time I have and apply lessons from successful authors and I hope my writing will improve.  I wish I could magically remove my challenges, but transformation into the  accomplished writer I want to become is learned and earned.

What are some of the first things you would use a wand on if you had one? What are some of your obstacles to writing time?


8 comments:

  1. Such painfully keen observations! My obstacles, like yours, center around doing the mundane things. Fortunately I have a wonderful husband and we have a mutually agreeable division of work--he cleans and does yard work, and I plan menus and cook. Only I have a really hard time getting around to it, and we often just settle for whatever we can scrounge up--he calls it "hunter-gathering" when we get desperate and he goes to Subway or Wendy's. Why is it so hard to cook for just two people??!! I'm much better about actually doing it when I cook for company. Guess I'll have to do that more often, and then we'd have yummy leftovers for a couple of days. I love winter because I fix soups that last for days and days.

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  2. I think writing feels like a selfish luxury so I can come up with a million other things that I "should" do instead of writing. Writing feels a lot like I'm sitting and dreaming my life away. Frittering away the hours. But when I don't write I get down on myself for not getting anywhere with the story. It's a mental struggle.

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  3. Good post Susan. My magic wand would finish and fix things . . . like paint on the chipped trim on the oven, finish the sheet rock, mudding and taping on the new closet and entry way into the hobby room, finish the 1500 square feet of tile from the flood, frame and hang all the family pictures, fabulous healthy and tasty meals for all the family so there wouldn't be a fat battle. Oh, and how about a great agent and a huge royalty check. Hmmmm this is actually quite fun!

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  4. My magic wand would be a taskmaster for my kids. Instead of doing the housework, it would teach them how to do it (because that's important, right?). I spend LOTS of energy getting them to help when really it would be easier to do it myself. I guess what I'm saying is that my wand would conjure a super nanny.

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  5. Cindy,I love all things everyone shared. I have several repair and rearrangement projects myself that I often despair of completing.

    Pam, Kami,it is comforting to know I am not the only one that feels guilty writing when there is so much left to do, and frustrated with not achieving my writing goals. I thought I was the only one that resorted to takeout when I get tired of cooking.

    Wendy, Mary Poppins and a magic wand what could be better than that?
    Thanks so much for commenting, it encourages me to keep working on improving, by knowing I am not the only one with these feelings.

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  6. I have to ask why do you suppose we have to do the mundane things anyway?

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  7. I've actually thought about the whole mundane task thing before. It doesn't matter who you are or what is happening in your life-- divorce, death, birth, illness-- the weeds keep growing and the counters keep gathering dust. There must be something eternal we are learning from the day-to-day stuff, because everyone deals with it.

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  8. Hmmmm...The Lord told Adam that "cursed shall be the ground for thy sake" (Moses 4:23). The hard work it takes to eat that "bread" by "the sweat of thy face" is meant to be a blessing to us all.

    I love thinking about that magic wand, though. sigh. I would have it plan all the meals and do all the shopping. I love the creative process of cooking...but it takes me forever to decide what to cook...and then finding out I don't have all the ingredients makes me crazy. Once all the planning is done, my mind is free to write!
    hugs~

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