I am one of those sandwiched middle classians that is stuck hard between generations. We have three kids in college, with one more we are trying to get into a certificate program. We are also dealing with more and more problems with my elderly in-laws and I am about to head for a family meeting to deal with some of those issues.
No matter what your political belief, (I do try to keep that out of this site) I think a lot of us feel very squeezed. Wages have been stagnant for a long time and the cost of life has been merrily growing. I think that is part of the reason why there is so much emotion behind the issues.
That said, I count my blessings every day because I know there are a lot of people who have it way worse than I do. I have been there. There was a time when 30 bucks was all I had after bills for gas and groceries for myself and my daughter. Even then I was blessed because at least I had a place to live and a car.
Times are tough for a lot of us.
Which means that if you are not getting paid to write, that becomes an “extra”. I am blessed again to be able to contribute to my family’s well-being by being able to work from home as a freelancer. I do alright for myself. BUT if I am not working, I am not earning.
So after working to feed us, and dealing with the different family issues, and sometimes actually trying to get some sleep, a lot of “extras” get cut out. You have to, to keep sane.
There are some days when there is more fur on the floor than I am happy with. I also have a huge collection of crafts and Lego kits that I now affectionately call my retirement plan because they got caught up in the “extras”. I used to struggle with having time to write. That so easily could be an “extra” and for a long time, it was. But then NaNoWriMo came along and I made a deal with my family. I would have November to write 50K words.
I started looking forward to every crazy November. So did my family. They would ask about what my idea for my story was and then what happened next. Eventually, I realized that they were happier when I wrote in November and so was I.
Writing is no longer an extra, it is self-care. I guess that can tell you a lot about how you feel about writing and if it is something you should invest time in. Even if it is to write a daily post.
Have a great day!
Paula