How do you do it all? I get this question a lot. The truthful answer is this: not very well. I scramble, I chase, I stay up late and get up early. But doesn't everyone, really? In spite of the nature of my life - the strange amalgam of academics, motherhood, and religion that it is - I cannot imagine that it is any more or less complicated than anyone else's. And there is always that lingering truth that this is all leading.....somewhere. To a book deal? To a teaching position? To Target? I cannot say for sure. But the opportunity to pursue an advanced degree is a gift. The chance to do so with my girls looking on is a freaking miracle. My thesis has been their reality since birth - and they will be old enough to understand and appreciate it when I graduate.
All of this brings me back to that ubiquitous question: how do I do it all? I think a much more interesting question is this: where do I do it all? With Dave off at work and school during the vast majority of his waking hours, my home must double as my library and office. Have I mentioned that my home is very small? Let me preface this by saying that I love my home to an unhealthy degree. It is warm, cozy, inviting, and old in a "lived-in-and-loved-for-generations" kind of way. Nevertheless, the fact remains that it is small. So small that my desk has led a rather nomadic existence for the past several years. It has done a stint upstairs in the living room. It currently resides on the landing at the bottom of our stairs. And it will be returning to its previous location as soon as we finish re-doing the living room walls and windows.
The size of my home has also meant that my desk is not the only nomad in the family. I am constantly migrating - with all of my books, notes, files, and binders - as occasion requires. I will work on my kitchen counter while the girls are playing outside so I can keep an eye on them. I will work on my dining table while the girls are playing in their rooms, or watching a movie downstairs...next to my desk. I even have been known to work on my girls' floors when they have been sick. I am a movable feast of obscure historical information. Somewhere, my grandpa and great grandpa - my predecessors through this doctoral gauntlet - are looking down on me............and laughing. I like to think that in between chuckles, they are smiling with pride - just a little bit.
In the coming weeks, however, I will be a nomad no more. As part of our plans for the living room, we are setting up a bona fide office area for me and I could not be more excited. I am about to dive into a demanding work schedule once the girls are in school, and after four years in this house, I am finally going to get my own little corner in which to write! The plans call for a wall-mounted shelf, and an excellent desk lamp. I am even going shopping for a real, ergonomic office chair to replace the $10 folding chair I have called home since the dawn of time. Writing my thesis is about to get a lot more comfortable and convenient. And if someone ever asks me where I do it all - I can tell them with a smile.
P. S. I am so happy and grateful that a few of you out there are coming along on this crazy journey of mine! Mia, Ryan, and Lindsay - I love and miss you all!!!!!
2 comments:
Oh my goodness yes, get a good desk chair!!! Your new space sounds wonderful. It is nice to have that place where it is understood that "this is where I get down to business." And I am quite positive that your grandpa and great grandpa are smiling down with lots of pride. I know I am proud of you.
In my own little corner, in my own little chair, I can be whatever I want to be... Do you know the song? If not, you should... :)
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