Taking the Time

I love being an author.

I also love being an actor.

I am one of those very fortunate people who really enjoys what she does and doesn’t mind immersing herself in work. The problem I have is balance.

Just so all of you know, it’s at this point in the blog post that my husband will laugh hysterically and go, “Ya think?”

I have a problem balancing two careers I love and taking the time to actually be a human being.

I grew up in a home where working seven days a week was to be expected and complaining wasn’t going to get you out of it. Then I dove into a career on the stage where I was expected to go on unless I was in the emergency room. I’ve never had a job where I could take a day off because I felt run down, or wanted to go to the beach, or attend a funeral. That’s just never been a part of my life.

With my writing, I push myself just as hard. I have deadlines and work to get done, and it doesn’t matter if those deadlines are self-imposed. I will give up sleep, social interaction, and leaving the house until I’m caught up. In a way, it’s great. One of the biggest problems I hear from fellow authors is that they have a hard time getting their butts in the chair to get the words down every day.

But…what if I’m on my way to becoming a scary recluse? What if I end up spending the rest of my life locked in a cabin playing with my imaginary characters?

I’m not really sure what the answer is going to be for me. I have to get through my workload, but it would be nice to participate in society as well. Working on a way to accomplish both things is going to take some time.

All I know is that, as I move forward, the new goal will be balance.