Yesterday, I ran into Whole Foods to buy some chicken fried tofu (yum) and Little Man’s favorite tea. Whole Foods is the Disney World of grocery stores. There is a wonderful hot food bar and a cafe with free wi-fi where the uber-cool eat gourmet lunches at booths constructed from re-claimed, and environmentally friendly urban wood (whatever that means) while staring meditatively at their IPads through trendy geek glasses while, I presume, they are writing the next great American novel. (If they can actually type on that blasted tiny little screen.). There is a wine bar. Seriously. In the grocery store. How awesome is that?
But I only had a moment to dash in and dash out after taking one daughter to the doctor, and dropping off cupcakes at another child’s school. On the way out, I glanced at the uber cool toiling away at their masterpieces, or perhaps just playing Angry Birds, and I thought- “I’ll never be that kind if writer.”
I am more of a keep a notebook on hand at all times in case you get a moment writer.
I seize writing time much in the same way a man lost in the desert captures water, stopping to squeeze a few drops of dew from the leaves of a plant. I read Writer’s Digest while waiting for the kids at the Orthodontist. I work on plot transitions while washing dishes or attacking the endless pile of laundry. I pause in helping my kids with homework to answer e-mail from editors. Some days, I literally run through the house cleaning just for a few moments at the computer, and even then, more often than not, Puzzle the Puppy jumps up into my lap. I am sweeping together the elements of a career from the crumbs leftover from raising five kids.
And I do it with joy, because I love what I do. All of it.
Are you in some way doing something you love? We are each created with a unique part to play and when we find it, it energizes us, fills us with joy, and feeds our souls. A good friend of mine calls it “running between the hedgerows”.
You will know it when you find it- It is the thing you are willing to joyfully sweep together out of the crumbs.
