As I explained in the previous post, I didn’t win NaNoWriMo this year, but I’m still glad I participated. I got a good start on my next novel and learned a few things in the process.
1. My children will play together if they know they have to. We’ve always limited their screen time, so the idea of putting on a movie in order to get an extra writing session was not appealing. NaNoWriMo affirmed for me that it’s also not necessary. When my kids know that I’m working, especially if I can work near the space they’re occupying, after a few minutes of resistance they will transform the living room into an ocean full of volcanoes and our couch into a pirate ship.
2. My husband supports me, if I tell him how. I’ve learned that saying, “I need to catch up on 2800 words today” is not the same as “I need you to take care of bath time/bedtime tonight, so I can catch up on 2800 words.” He’s a wonderful man, but he’s no mind reader.
3. There’s a season for everything. NaNoWriMo is fun, because it’s only for a month. Having a two-year old is fun, because it’s only for a year. Christmas is fun, because (in our house) it’s only for a month. I love all of these things, but they’re also really hard. Giving priority to competing commitments in turn is essential. If everything is a priority, nothing is. We ate a lot of frozen burritos in the first half of November, but my family knew it was only for a season. The intensity of caregiving sometimes sucks the life right out of me, but I wouldn’t trade it for tenure. It’s a season that will only come once. All seasons pass, even the ones you wish would linger. The best we can do is take what we can from them to carry into the next one.