School is out! If it isn’t for your kids, it will be soon.
This is the time of year that my social media feeds fill
with parents bemoaning or celebrating the ending of the school year and the
beginning of summer. As a homeschooling mother of three, this transition of seasons
signals something different for me.
During the school year, I spend about 90% of my time educating
my kids, keeping the household running, and keeping up with all the things that
need to be done. Writing takes a backseat to keeping everyone on schedule,
breaking up fights, enforcing rules, explaining and teaching concepts, and managing
our schedules.
The change in season means a shift in focus. The kids no
longer demand my attention most of the day, and schooling is set aside for writing.
Even when my children were small, summer meant my mind was freer to focus on
writing ideas, brainstorming, and utilizing every spare moment of writing time
to the max—anything other than lesson planning and calendar juggling.
Now that my kids are older, maximizing my word count is
easier. I claim the schoolroom, spread out my workspace, shoo the kids from the
room, put on my headphones, and disappear into my imaginary worlds for hours at
a time. I make huge publishing plans, write, edit, and plot. The world is full
of possibilities and productivity in the summer months.
Sound boring? Where is my time in the sun? What about
vacation time?
I look forward to summer because writing is my favorite
activity. I love diving in and living in my book projects. It is never dull.
As for time in the sun, well, I have never been attracted to
the sun. I still enjoy admiring sunny days, but since a recent health change,
the sun causes pain and health complications. I am learning to avoid it as much
as possible without turning into a hermit or a vampire without the whole undead
blood-drinking thing. Thankfully, my supportive husband has taken over the swim
party duties so the kids don’t miss out.
I will still take vacation time. I have family coming later
in the summer, and I will take days off frequently enough thanks to health
issues, appointments, and just life. Also, I will have to take time to plan
next year’s school year, but after homeschooling nine years, that should only
take me a week or so come fall.
So, what does a summer writing day look like for me? It
begins with getting up, breakfast, a shower (if I am lucky), and settling
everyone in for the day. Sometimes my to-do list delays things more. Life
happens. Then, I do a quick scan of my email and social media. When I finally
get a chance to get going on my writing, the session usually starts an hour
before lunch or in the early afternoon. On a good day, I can manage two or more
hours of writing and produce a few thousand words. Other days, it is more like
a thousand words or less due to research sessions or interruptions from the
kids. Despite appearances, they are definitely not perfect.
