Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Oh the Pressure!!!!!!

Today, the Matron made the mistake of picking up Poets and Writers magazine, a little rag to which she subscribes but rarely reads (time, children, job, inertia).

She stumbled across the writer Michelle Wildgell (editor of the literary rag Tin House) and was subjected to this:

Poets and Writers: "You write fiction, you're an active cook and you edit Tin House, you're married. How do you balance all of it?"

OMIGOD. Let's just unpack that. Pare down to actual duty (cooking and eating do NOT count) and basically this person has a job and writes. Without children but with (in theory) a supportive spouse. He might be a jerk but he exists, regardless.

How does she balance all that work, writing and marriage (and eating) indeed?

The Matron?

6 am: up with Stryker for the bus
7:30: wake up the other two
8:40: drive littler ones to school
9:10-11:55: manage children's lives (new schools, auditions, doctors and dentists, play dates, lessons) by internet and telephone.
11:55-12:15: gobble food
12:15-1:50: squeeze in 15 hours of full time job
2:00-3:30: world's most worthless work meeting
4:00-6:00: backpacks, laundry, cleaning, witness to myriad narratives about day etc.
6:00-6:45: prepare dinner children will sniff, inspect and reject
DINNER
7:30-8:00: fret about homework
8:00-9:00: this blog post and American Idol
9:00-10:00: bed time


Wow. How does one balance all that work and cooking?

8 comments:

smalltownme said...

That's why I don't try any more. I'm almost 50. Not trying is so much less stressful!

smalltownme said...

P.S. Homework before dinner saves my sanity every time.

Michele R said...

Don't ask me. Mine is like your except I am in bed at 11:00 and up at 6:30.
It'll keep us out of the nursing home longer?

Allmycke said...

Let me guess - the interviewr was of the male persuasion???
J*rk!

Anonymous said...

There's something they're not telling you--she has no kids. She has a FT nanny. She has a maid. Something's amiss.

Minnesota Matron said...

Yes -- the interviewer was a man AND let's be clear -- the bedtime from 9-10 is for children. Yours truly goes much later.

middle-aged-woman said...

I hate to call a teacher on this, but isn't "world's most worthless work meeting" redundant?

Daisy said...

I like 12:15 to 1:50. too true!