Though I have to tutor for two hours this evening, I have today off from working at the library. I’ve settled down by the woodstove, freshly made banana bread by my side, my laptop in my lap, all ready for a no-pressure relaxing day of work on my blog.
Then: CRASH!!! BANG!!!! CRASH!!!! The guys working on the new construction next door have chosen today to work on digging the septic system. Our windows are rattling. The house is shaking from foundation to roof. The dishes are chattering in the cabinets. The cats are little furry balls of anxiety.Â
What I want to know is this: why choose today, cold with a forecast of staying cold, to try to dig a septic system? Isn’t the ground frozen a bit solid at this point (hence the shuddering of my entire house)??
What I also want to know is how I’m going to be able to write anything coherent in the midst of this chaos. Sigh. All I wanted was a nice, happy day off.Â
Ah. The writer’s lament: why isn’t it quiet when I want to write! For inspiration, solace, and a guide to writing amidst chaos, turn to John Steinbeck’s Working Days, his journal of writing The Grapes of Wrath. He wrote, almost daily, amidst construction, marital strife, career chaos, and a constant stream of wellwishers/visitors/friends.
(I’m sure it didn’t hurt that he had a doting wife who cooked, cleaned, answered the door, the phone, and the mail (as well as put up with the irascible John). )