It’s Saturday morning and I’m writing this with no specific topic or goal or purpose in mind, only that I want to start a Saturday morning writing habit and to sit down and do it is the only way to start. If I’m really honest with myself, this is the time I am just wasting time reading random stuff on the Internet anyway, so why not use this for something that is better for me and my brain? Anyway, I am trying to make a change, that’s the point. :)
A surprising number of people talked to me about the blog after the publication of this article, like, even months after it came out. The conversation almost always turned to whether I’m still writing, and what I’m writing about. I never had a good answer because it’s changed so much over the years, and to be honest, I don’t know what it is now. When the kids were at home I wrote a lot about our life together, but we’ve been empty nesters for a while now, so that’s not a go-to topic anymore. I had various creative projects and themes come and go. Where I’m going with this now, I really don’t know, but I do know that I’m writing it for myself, and I have to start again by just doing it. I don’t know who’s reading, my comment function only works some of the time… sigh, it’s time to upgrade the guts of this thing but I find it overwhelming and don’t know how where to start with that. But that is for later.
When I first started this blog, ideas just poured out of me. I kept a spiral-bound notebook with me at all times (Dollar store grade, with a special leather slipcover) and I used it. A lot. Parenting is a gold mine for a writer. I wrote posts longhand while the kids played in the park and during 100 stolen moments during the day.
Now, I am writing and editing five days a week, and it is harder to summon those extra words during my leisure time. Most days when I get home I feel like my brain is like a wrung-out sponge.
That being said, I actually do not believe we have a finite amount of creativity allotted to us. I still stand by my “empty vessel” theory. You can read more about that in this past post, but essentially, I think that when we’re feeling drained we need to find a way to fill ourselves up again. And HOW we fill ourselves up is a personal thing. I should get on that.
I may not have been writing here in longer form, but I’ve been writing Piper’s Instagram account on a near-daily basis. That is creative work, so I can’t really beat myself up for not doing any creative work, right? All that to say, I don’t want to say I’M BACK because I don’t know if I really am and I don’t know what I’m doing here yet, other than trying to build the habit again.
