So Out of Sync

I knew working full time would take a certain toll on my writing, but I had no idea it would knock me so off course.

I thought I could write in between patients...in the down time that inevitably comes with the unpredictable hospital tides. I thought I could squeeze in some writing time in the morning before work. I thought I could write some more after work, in the evenings.

Not only is that not happening, but I can't even get a little exercise in or keep up with the mountainous laundry piles and paper trails and general junk growing all over my house.

I've been on the job now for a little over a month. Luckily, I like it. After 16 years of this occupation, I still love the challenge and art of creating the best possible pictures on the screen, of chatting with my patients, of taking care of people in need, and of teaching the next generation of sonographers to do the same. Sounds a little corny written out, but it is true.

((Now, the not-so-corny-all-American part? I also love the **paychecks**. But don't ever let anyone tell you the money makes it all worth the work. I learned a long time ago that there is a tipping point at which no amount of money would be worth the hell of sleep-deprivation and/or workaholism and all the fallout in your life that follows.))

I do, however, miss my other love--writing. Terribly. I'm lonely for involvement with my still-developing characters, anxious to get back to building my complex web of plot and subplot. I miss thinking about writing and talking about writing and studying writing.

**Sigh**

Things will even out eventually. I'm sure of that. If they don't slow down on their own, I'll put a little more pressure on my heels and create a bit of resistance. I have a couple of weekends away coming up in the next few months. Not on-your-own-to-do-nothing-but-write weekends, but also not get-called-in-to-work-every-half-hour-by-the-E.R.-weekends either. My husband has some vacation time coming, which will alleviate some of the household burden off my shoulders.

Have you ever hit a patch in your writing career where you couldn't foresee the time and/or space you needed to write becoming available?