Saturday we will have our last class at Writers Circle for this season. I will concentrate on changes I want to make in the studio and downstairs. I will have all winter to get things done.
My last class at TCCC ends in October and I will not teach again until next year. As much as I love teaching senior adults to write about their lives, I need time for myself now.
When those two hats are hung up until next year, I will still have another hat on - working with individual writers and poets to help them complete goals for their writing.
But this winter I will put in place a new schedule for the coming year. I will work more from home, in my studio, and will not be hosting as many out of town writers as I have done in the past.
I have been asked to teach more at my studio instead of the college. I have also been told by several people that I don't charge enough for my classes. I know that, compared to other writers and teachers, my fees are very low, but hesitate to charge what I should. However, I must. The cost of living has increased and my fixed income has not.
 |
| Lexie loves to ride in her car seat where she can see everything. |
Plus--I have a second mouth to feed. Lexie eats like a small horse even though she is only 8 pounds. But the biggest expense of having Lexie is making my house and yard escape-proof. I had a new gate built for my upper deck because she jumped the other one any time I left her out. I have to replace the carpet on my stairs and upstairs office because she thought the carpet was her special place to potty. All of this has been costly. But when she cuddles up with me and looks at me with those sweet eyes, I know I will work as long as I have to if it helps me keep this lovely little thing safe and happy, and keeps me from being angry at her for soiling my floors. She is a year old now and she is good about going outside but it is too late for my carpet.
My goal is to make my life more stress-free and to spend more time with those I love. That will mean taking off some of my hats, I think. At least I am realizing that I need to take more time for me - to rest, to sit on my deck and enjoy my garden, to read some of the many books I've stacked up and never get to, and to watch my little dog play. Time passes way to fast. I have books to write and publish and the days grow short when you reach September.
I think you are making a wise choice. I know it's easy to get overextended and stressed out. Little Lexie will be happy to have you around more! :-)
ReplyDeleteYes, Djan. I love what I do but I do overextend myself and have to step back. My mind is thirty years old and thinks I can do what I did then, but, alas, it just ain't so. I didn't have diabetes, fibromyalgia, and multiple chemical sensitivity when I was thirty. However, I will continue to do things I love to do, just not so many of them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping in. I appreciate you, my friend.
All good ideas, Glenda!
ReplyDeleteI hear you. Why is it that we are so often better at taking care of other people than we are of ourselves? Good luck.
ReplyDeleteEC, I might have learned that trait from my mother who took care of us children and my father and never thought of herself. Sadly, when she really became ill with terrible headaches, we paid little attention to her desperate quest to find a doctor who could or would help her. When she collapsed at home after visiting an eye doctor who told her she was in danger of a stroke, it was too late. Her blood pressure was extremely high and no one had put her on blood pressure medicine. She had no recent history with the doctors she saw, so they took a wait and watch stance.
ReplyDeleteI learned that it is important to have medical records and take them with you when you visit a new doctor.
I have been sick for three days now, and I don't like it. I want to be able to get out and do what I want to do.