So there I was, enjoying my ramped-up productivity in February, and then the day job woke up, took a deep breath, put on its jackboots, and started stomping on my face. I went through sixty-hour week after sixty-hour week, with a couple of eighty-hour weeks mixed in. There were plenty of weeks where I put in some amount of time on all seven days.
Now, keep in mind my new context, the whole being a new father thing (which long-time readers may remember happened in December). Taking care of my son probably prevented me from devoting even more of my free time to the day job. At the same time, working and fathering have taken their toll on my ability to achieve a quality state of sleep.
I was taking care of some bill paying last week, and I realized just how far out of regular life my head has been. Specifically, I realized that I haven’t been archiving bills and banking statements consistently for more than a year. I’m usually pretty perfectionist about said archiving, and it was quite a shock to realize how big the gap had grown.
Fortunately, things are about to change. I’ve been off of work for the last week-plus, and when I get back next week, I only have eight weeks left. The reason I only have eight weeks left is that we are moving to Wisconsin at the end of July. Yes, after nine years on the Gulf Coast, we’re coming back to the Midwest. We’re very excited. I’m excited, in particular, because Alyssa’s going to be making enough money in her new job that we’re going to try me out as a stay-at-home dad/writer. That’s right, instead of constantly trying to shoehorn in my writing around a day job (which frequently demands much more than forty hours), I’m going to have the chance to write in and around being a father. My brain won’t be clouded up with the worries of the day job.
Now, you might say, well, sure, but trying to write while being a full-time father won’t be easy. I agree. But for a long time, my brain has been preoccupied with the volume and intricacies of my day job, and that won’t be the case anymore. Also, all of this time where I haven’t been able to write has been stoking my engines. I’m already starting to put more time toward writing projects, and I know I’ll be ready to move forward at a much faster pace, probably before we even get to the move.
Hm. I must be entering an optimistic phase.
And no, I haven’t finished Cryptonomicon yet.