Sometimes…
Sometimes, despite our very best intentions (and efforts), creativity just… doesn’t go as planned.
Like when the weather turns so cold that your poor, ancient, blockheater-less vehicle needs to be parked in your garage, and your workshop space disappears, and your list of projects begins to grow at an alarming rate.
And then the Grandbean-daycare gig** you thought you were starting in April is actually starting in the last week of February, and your house is more than 20 years beyond being set up for babies, and HOLY HANNAH, there’s so much to do, and where are you going to put the crib? And wait, you need a change table, too! And a play area! And toys! And books!
And speaking of books… you’re supposed to be writing one of those, too, remember?! O.o
GAH.
But needs must, and so you do what you have to do. You haul out that creative thinking cap and start haunting Facebook Marketplace. In short order, you score a change table and a crib — but of course, the former needs refinishing. So your ever-so-wonderful husband makes an appointment for a blockheater to be installed in your ancient vehicle so that it can be parked in the driveway. Your workshop space is returned to you, and you feverishly launch yourself into sanding and painting, slapping coats of paint on in between trips to pick up toys, books and assorted baby sundries.
And writing.
You rent a storage unit for the grown-up furniture that will have to move to make room for the baby things. You arrange a truck (and a son-in-law) to transport said grown-up furniture the weekend before your Grandbean arrives for his first day with you. Because tight schedules are SO much fun.
And you write some more.
You downsize from two pantry cabinets to one in the kitchen to make room for a play kitchen. You clean out a closet to make room for your sewing supplies so you can get rid of a cabinet in a hallway that will be needed for ride-on toy traffic.
You shift and purge and reorganize until your house is in shambles and you think you’ll never find it again. You enlist a (masked) neighbour to help your husband move a dresser to the garage and a still-tacky change table upstairs.
Trust me, you’re no longer writing at this point… 😛
But you are making progress.
And then it’s Monday and a week out from your first Grandbean-for-a-whole-day event, and… oh, my goodness, would you look at that. You have a crib and change table in place. You have toy shelves. You have a kitchen play area.
You also have a list as long as your arm of things you still need to buy (including crib sheets!) — and a half dozen more Facebook Marketplace pickups to be made. But by gosh, lady, you have created at least a semblance of order out of chaos and you are ready to sit on that Grandbean. AND you’re still upright! Give yourself a pat on the back!!!
And then go write that darned book. 😉
*** The daycare gig is happening because of COVID, of course, and I’ll be looking after my ‘Bean four days a week for the foreseeable future. I expect much more chaos will ensue as I figure out how to do ALL THE THINGS (including writing!) around this arrangement, so do stay tuned for future fun! 😉
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