A Day in the Life by Leia Shaw

It always surprises me to learn people are interested in what a writer’s daily life is like. I can’t possibly see how it’s any different from anyone else’s. Do you think I have a live-in nanny and personal chef like a celebrity? Do you think I eat magic mushrooms to get inspired to write? To prove to you how ordinary my life is, I’ve written below, A Day in the Life of Me.

I write two full days during the week (and on weekends) so this is a typical writing day. On the other three days, I have my 3 year old home with me. And we do fun activities like play dates and puppet shows and wake mommy with a baseball bat when she falls asleep during Dora.

DS = dear son age 6

DD = dear daughter age 3

7am – alarm goes off

7:05 – wake up DS then get myself dressed  

7:10 – wake up DS

7:15 – DD stumbles into the bedroom, usually cranky

7:20 – husband stumbles out of bed, usually cranky

7:22 – wake up DS (note: no one in my family is a morning person)

7:25 – look at the clock and declare, in my super perky June Cleaver voice, “Oh crap! We’re late!”

7:25 – 7:40 – hustle everyone into clothing (bonus if they match) and urge them to shove food down their throats

7:45 – husband and DS run to the bus stop

8:00 – DD rejects first breakfast, demands second breakfast. We argue.

8:05 – make DD second breakfast (tip: never argue with a 3 yr old)

8:15 – drop her off at babysitter

8:25 – realize I forgot to put a bra on. Keep arms crossed over my chest while avoiding eye contact with other parents

8:30 – check facebook. Post something super positive and prophetic like “I will finish this goddamn manuscript today goddamn it!”

9:00 – writing!

9:05 – check facebook

9-12pm – attempt to be productive, sometimes successful. Most days drive to Starbucks and sit under vent where my fingers go numb from cold air blasting but at least it keeps me awake. I also get refills on my iced tea for $0.53 (the only thing that makes a $4.00 drink somewhat redeemable. Yes, I park in the 1 hour only slot and sit there for 2 and I drink three refills of iced tea so suck it Starbucks!)

Noon – drive home, check facebook, and eat lunch

1-2 – editing and revising what I pretended to write in the morning

2-3 – write super informational and always entertaining blog posts like this one

3 – peel my lazy ass off whatever piece of furniture I’ve been stuck to for the last three hours and get DS from the bus stop

3:30 – feed him 1st, 2nd, and 3rd snack then watch him bounce around the house like a cocker spaniel on crack

4:30 – pick up DD from babysitter. Say “aww…” when she runs to me and gives me a big hug

5:00 – Look at hungry kids and say, “What? You’re expecting dinner?”

5:05 – attempt to cook dinner while children make me want to kill myself by saying things like, “He breathed on me!” “She blinked her eyes at me!” and “The dog just threw up on the carpet.”

5:30 – Hubby comes home and I point to the kids and say “This is all YOUR fault!”   

6 – 7:30 – I’m not really sure what happens here. It’s all a blur.

7:30 – bedtime!

8:00 – No, really. Bedtime.

8:15 – I said bedtime!

8:30 – Pretend to write while I stare mindlessly at whatever hubby is watching on TV

10:00 – “Oh, hi, hubby. How was your day?”

10:01 – Hubby grunts. “Bedtime.”

 

Filed under: romance