Open Mic Friday! featuring JA Adams

Welcome, dear friends, to the last Open Mic Friday of May!

Today’s guest post by JA Adams made me smile when I read it. As someone who writes from home, I can relate!

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Woes of the Writer Parent, JA Adams

I am a writer parent that works from home and has all day to work without interruptions. Nine a.m., it is quiet and everyone is out of the house. My deadline is fourteen days away. Yes, I know, I said that yesterday, when it was fifteen days away. I have plenty of time and I’m all set to write. Let me check to see if I have everything I need. The heat pad for my lower back is plugged in. The ice pack for my shoulder is in the freezer. Yes, I am all set for uninterrupted writing. Oops! I need to put in the CD’s. I’ve got to have my music to get my writer’s groove on. Okay, the CD player is loaded. Now where did I put that remote control to the CD? I’ve got to have the remote control or I’ll have to keep interrupting my groove to get up and change out the songs. It’s probably in the children’s room. They always come get my remote control when they can’t find their own. So, upstairs to hunt for the remote control. In the hallway I am met by their pile of laundry that they failed to bring down before leaving. Well, I guess I could be nice just this once and take it down for them.

On the way from the laundry room, I take the ice pack out of the freezer. That way, I won’t have to get back up from the computer and get it from the fridge when I need it. Looking in the kitchen cabinets, I pull out a plastic container to put the ice pack in. I need the plastic container so that the condensation from the ice will not ruin my carpet when the ice pack is not in use. The last person who emptied the dishwasher jumbled everything up in the cabinet so, everything tumbles out when I remove the large plastic container I need.

Okay, now everything is back up in the cabinet. Oh yeah, I was upstairs looking for the remote. Back upstairs to look for the remote. Clothes, CD’s, books, homework, neglected papers, and teen magazines with ripped-out pages of teen stars strewn about. How can they think in all this chaos? In the process of looking up, under and over for the remote, subconsciously I begin cleaning up their room. When I come to my senses and realize what I have done, I calculate in dollars how much writing time I have lost. So, I pick up one of the loose pieces of paper and write my children a bill for my services. However, I doubt I will ever see the fruits of this labor. Still, they need to realize that being a writer parent that works from home is still a real job. Finally the remote appears, in their bathroom of all places. I look at the time. It’s eleven o’clock, two hours later. My critique group meets at noon and I’m still in my P.J.’s!

Well, I made it to critique group on time. Only to remember that we had cancelled for today. Since I am already out, I might as well run some errands and drop off my new bookmarks at the bookstores. Yikes! It’s three o’clock. I am a writer parent that works from home and I’ve got work to do. My deadline is thirteen and a half days away. I must get some meaningful uninterrupted writing done before everybody gets home. Oh shucks, I forgot about dinner. Well, they can order pizza. Four o’clock, thirty minutes behind me, the youngest comes rushing through the door. I am informed that they must use the computer right away to finish a report so they can go little league basketball. The rule in the house (made by me, the writer parent) is all homework must be done before play. Well, since I made the rule, I have to abide by it. Being the writer parent I am, I made them all sign contracts to that effect. But, I don’t sweat it since in an hour the computer will be mine for uninterrupted writing. I will listen to my CD’s and get my writer’s groove going. So, until then, I can do some proof reading.

Just shy of five o’clock, my next child rushes in laying claim to the computer to look up information on the Internet for a report. When I state that I was next in line for the computer, the telephone rings. It is my critique partner freaking out because they have a deadline two days away and discovered a major scene error in their manuscript. Off to the rescue I go, as we agree to meet at the local coffee shop. I get back at eight o’clock only to find my spouse on the computer working remotely from work. Well, I’m not up to the battle of the professions over computer rights at the moment. I guess I’ll just eat a slice of pizza. Besides, I have thirteen days before my deadline. I’m a writer parent that works from home. I’ll have all day tomorrow to work uninterrupted.

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JA Adams, author of three psychological suspense novels — Chameleon, Purple Haze, and Unfinished Business — uses personal and professional experiences to bring awareness to psychological issues that affect our relationships. Adams resides in Austin, TX with her husband and children nearby. For more information visit www.jaadamsauthor.com.