The To-Do List

Putting ones life back in order after tragedy is tricky business, especially if it keeps happening over and over again. Of course with four wonderful, hairbrain kiddies and a plan-by-the-seat-of-your-pants hubby this gets tricky. So how does a full-time working wife, mommy, and author get things done? I made my life one giant to-do list.

For instance: I had Wednesday night off. I woke at a little after four pm (which is normal for some one who works twelve hours at night). Now, the night before I planned on making dinner, making sure everyone got showers, laundry, screwing in drywall, writing Dream Prophet for at least two hours and editing Birth of a Vixen until it was time to wake everyone up so they could start their day. I scheduled every detail.

What I forgot to factor in was homework and the little fact that Mark wanted to cook for me. It was so sweet of him. This left me about an hour and a half of "free time" which I spent watching Glee. You need 'me' time. This is very, very important should one want to maintain their sanity. And considering I don't have much left in that department I decided to clung to it as I watched Kurt struggle in school and blink several time at the lingerie-cladded Beast.

But back to The To-Do List.

Everything went off without a hitch. Bathes. Chores. I screwed in drywall while the laundry cycled. 5,000 words flowed down my fingers to the laptop. I edited BOV so it flowed and didn't repeat information given in the new first chapter. It was a glorious night.

Then 6:30 am came and after everyone got up for school I didn't go to bed. Oopsy. I stayed up for another hour and another and another until 10:30 pm. I don't know what came over me. Sure, I took an energy drink, but that was at 9 am. My plan-by-the-seat-of-your-pants hubby had a schedule, too. And he wanted me to spend that time running around most of Northeast Ohio with him.

I do not regret staying awake for over 30 hours. I do not regret the near 15 hours I slept afterwards. We got a sh!tton of stuff done. Most importantly I got to spend time with my family. It occured to me that with everything else going on I didn't factor in the people who mean the most into my to-do list. But why would I? You cannot schedule love. The greatest thing in all the world comes when you least expect it. When it does one should not bury themselves in work. You embrace it. As a woman, as a writer, this epiphany helped me immensly. The quirky part is...I already knew this -but like most people who get caught up in The To-Do List- I forgot.

How do you remind yourself how important love is?