Sacrifice

I'm going to talk about sacrifice today. No, not the kind where you find a virgin and sacrifice her to appease the angry Gods so the harvest will be bountiful. I'm talking about the kind of sacrifice that I, as a writer, make in my life.

First - I gladly make the sacrifice and wouldn't have it any other way!

The sacrifice I'm talking about is . . . time, or, rather in this instance, social interaction with others.

There is only so much time in a day. I'm not one of the lucky ones that do not have to work for a living. I have to go to work, five days per week, Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM. Okay, I normally go into work a bit earlier than that, but . . . My evenings, well, depending on the day of the week, my evenings are chaotic.

A normal evening:

• Get home and give Squeaky (my whiny cat) a treat. She's on a diet and she's not happy, not at all, not at all!
• Pay attention to the boyz (Jesse and James) - just a bit, not too much, because there's only so much time.
• If Frank is awake, chat with him. If he's asleep - woo-hoo, a few minutes just for me! : )
• Walk the boyz.
• Cook dinner.
• Eat dinner.
• Clean up dinner.
• Dry the dishes that Frank has washed and put them away.
• Send Frank off to work.
• Write!!!!
• Bond with Jesse, James, and Squeaky.
• Let the boyz out.
• Go to bed!

This is my normal routine. Some nights, I don't have to cook dinner and I can start writing a bit earlier.

Second - I'm not complaining, not one bit.

So, this week, I received a phone call about subbing in a card group. I turned down the opportunity because . . . well, it would be time away from writing, in the evening, during the week, which is not something I want to do right now. The words are flowing on the new project and, well, I just want to write. I don't want to socialize - well, Friday nights are the exceptions, margaritas, and all that jazz - or do anything, except write.

So, for my writing, I sacrifice the social interaction, the chance to catch up with friends, acquaintances, play cards (which I love doing), try some new food (always good), and just get out of the house.

I think we all, as aspiring or otherwise writers, make such sacrifices and do so, for the most part, willingly.

We - day jobs, kids, families, pets, other obligations - don't have the leisure to do everything we want to do and still write as much as we, sometimes, want to write.

That doesn't mean that we (I) should turn down all invites during the week or on the weekend. Heck, if I didn't go out every now and then, where would I get great inspiration? It wouldn't happen. I just think that, when accepting or turning down invitations, we (I) really need to consider what we are sacrificing - social interaction, extra writing time - or whatever. There comes a time and place when we sacrifice too much and lose out in the process.

So, the rambling point of this post: consider carefully what you are and are not willing to sacrifice on this crazy path to publication, and beyond. Don't give up everything, because you might find, at the end of the road, that you have nothing!

This week, yeah, I turned down one chance at social interaction. I'm giving in to my passion to write, but I know, that next week, I might be willing to sacrifice some writing time for some social interaction. In the end, things happen when they are meant to happen, not when I want them to happen, and that without balance . . . well, someone ends up with their butt suddenly on the ground!!

S