I am currently between books. I've sent off Naughty in Nice and I have to start the next Molly book in January, so I'm reading up on Tammany Hall and Irish politics. We're in Arizona and the weather is perfect. The desert beckons, there are great restaurants and yet I am feeling guilty because I'm not working. I should be starting a short story. I should be finishing my travel book on Australia. I have to face that I am not good at doing nothing. I feel the need to be working all the time. And this is not good because most of my friends have retired or are approaching retirement. They are happily playing bridge, taking art classes or volunteering. And I--I cannot picture a life without writing, without working to deadlines, without flying around the country and making speeches. I keep telling myself that it would be good to slow down and not push myself so hard, but in truth I don't want to.
Well, I took early retirement from teaching a few years ago to write! :-) After the intense pace of the classroom, at first I couldn't get over how much time I had. That changed fast. I like art, too, so now I had time to do some painting; and then we started traveling to Spain, so my husband and I have been trying to learn Spanish. And then there is the garden... , mine is a mass of weeds, but when I find time, I love to work in the garden. But most of all I love to write. So.... why stop? I would never want to "do nothing" (and I'll bet Molly wouldn't either!)
ReplyDeleteI dream of the time I no longer have to face a 'JOB'. Doing nothing ,however, does nothing for me. So much I would love to get into and just don't have the time. BTW Loved the dog park for husbands idea. Keep us out of kitchen and the living room wont be untidy. Your the best Rhys!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to retire! There are so many things I'd rather do than work. There's travelling, volunteering, spending more time with family and friends, having more time to read, etc.
ReplyDeleteBut I hope you have no plans to retire soon, as I really enjoy reading your books. So keep up the hard work!! lol
I can understand wanting to be done with a JOB-working for someone else, with no freedom of time. That's the wonderful thing about being a writer--my time is my own. I can get up at five in the morning and write feverishly, then have the rest of the day to goof off if I want to. I work in pjs sometimes. I can take my laptop out in the car and work at a coffee shop or in the desert if I feel like it. So work for someone else is quite different. Would want to escape from that.
ReplyDeleteI have to be busy all the time too. When I got married the first time around in the early 80's I was 22 and didn't have to work (how things have changed). I had never been so bored in my life. But now, I find it impossible to relax and can't remember the last time I flipped idly through a magazine and pondered on what the day would bring. But, I'd still like to find a balance since I work full-time and write as well. Rhys, you have the perfect combination and one I'd never want to change!
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