A few years ago, I was lucky enough to hear Jean Auel speak. Her final Earth’s Children book had just been released and a small crowd had gathered to listen to her and get their books signed. Jean spoke about the research she had done, which included traveling to many ancient painted caves.
Her books (The Clan of the Cave Bear, The Valley of Horses, The Mammoth Hunters, The Plains of Passage, The Shelters of Stone, The Land of Painted Caves), follow one woman’s life as humans evolve. Each book is massive in length.
Jean told us about her family. She raised her children while researching and writing hundreds of thousands of words. One brave member of the audience asked her HOW she managed that. Her response was simply stated, and powerful.
“What does that mean, HOW? There is no HOW. You just do it.”
When my own responsibilities get in the way of what I really want to be doing, I tend to get angry. Feeling overwhelmed is a daily occurrence. I feel alone as I unload and reload the dishwasher, day after day. The mountain of laundry never seems to get any smaller. And the papers. Oh the papers! When will I ever learn to take care of something the first time I touch it instead of stacking it, moving it, and sorting through it later?
I make massive To Do lists and I expect way too much of myself. My children are grown (but not all gone) and I have a husband. We have 3 dogs and 6 cats (and a fish). I work a full time job. I also write at least twenty hours each week. I’m Vice President of Public Relations for a Toastmasters club. I belong to a writing group and a critique group. My friends ask me to proofread their college papers. I enjoy reading and watching movies. I have even been known to play Bunco every once in a while.
Father Time refuses to put extra hours into my days. And I’m tired of asking him to.
I hereby banish the HOW. I don’t need to know how I’m going to get through all the things that need to be done. I already know that I will get through the important ones. And that is enough.
