The crush

Every morning M.H. asks me what my schedule is for the day, and every day I reply, “I need to work until I die.”

The crushing workload has not let up for one second in all of 2018, and the backlog is getting worse instead of better. A bit of this is my fault for not strategically saying no to things (though I have said no to some things), but the rest of it is sort of the price of being a freelancer. If six of your valued clients need you to work that week—well, you work for six clients that week, unless you want some of them to fire you. Which you do not.

Two things are holding me together, at least most of the time:

1. I do not step into my office or look at my email until 9 a.m. We usually get up at 6 and sort of run around busily until 7, but then I have two hours to have leisurely coffee, leisurely breakfast, leisurely yoga, a leisurely walk, and a short, unsatisfying shower (LOL).
2. I am still taking Saturdays off, though most of the time I am too fried to think of anything particularly fun to do and spend the evening wishing I’d gotten just some freaking work done. This might be part of the process of learning to take a day of rest from my labors, I don’t know.

I almost feel like all that leisure time is the source of my problem, but you have to draw the line somewhere. I mean, I’ve been working from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. or later six days a week…

Made an art

My city has a quarterly event called ArtWalk where you go walk around downtown and look at local art displayed in galleries, restaurants, and other businesses. There are snacks and sometimes live music, and it is great, and I ALWAYS leave with a burning desire to create something of my own but never do.

M.H. couldn’t attend the December ArtWalk, so I invited a friend of mine to come with me instead, and we (she) got to talking to an artist whose work we loved. This woman had a series of workshops, including one called “Paint the Sky,” and my friend and I decided then and there to sign up.

Anyway, the class was last Saturday, we had a blast, and I painted a sky:

I am wavering about whether I’m satisfied with it and whether it’s actually done, but I certainly enjoyed its creation. Plus I have some supplies now, and sort of know how to use them, so I could make another something-or-other. Maybe on a Saturday, since I have the day off. :)