Ten writers for children. All with something to say.

4/27/11

Blowing Winds of Time

Reading all of my Potato's woes and frustrations certainly reveals to me that I am not alone in feeling that there is not enough time in the day to paint and write all that I want to and balance the demands of family, friends, house, cats, and life in general. I can also commiserate on the difficulties of which project calls the loudest to be worked on and waiting for a response from a publisher, or whether to find an agent, or how to really get involved with the technology of the book, and then add in the "social networking" of marketing to the list of things to learn and pay attention to!

What I wish I had most was more dream time; meaning the time one finds along a path in the woods or walking along a shore, when there is life all around to be noticed. I need time to notice and be surprised. Due to deadlines of all sorts, every minute of my day and night is accounted for. I found this photo by the photographer, Emmet Gowin and it seems to illustrate my deepest worries... that I am growing old too fast to realize all that I want to write and paint. I am afraid my files of story and picture ideas are all going to blow away with the winds of time and I will turn to dust before I finally get to them.

7 comments:

Christy said...

Dear, dear Lauren, It IS hard to find time to walk to that well with the quenching drink a creator needs. I too feel that sense of panic that my ideas won't find form as the clock keeps ticking. Sometimes I remember that it's a lucky problem--to have such wealth inside, but usually I'm frustrated. I do a terrible job protecting dream/creation time. I wonder if we need to make appointments with ourselves, slot ourselves into the calendar, and make sure not to cancel.

Beautiful picture!!

Lauren said...

Yes, the calendar slot is a good idea. It has worked before.
Isn't a gorgeous photo?! Ruby has been taking a B&W photography class at Oberlin and she keeps telling me her *new* favorite photographer of the week, thus I found Emmet Gowin.

Edie Hemingway said...

It IS lucky to have such a wealth of ideas inside you, Lauren. And what a wonderful photo! I didn't know that Ruby had decided to go to Oberlin. My mother went there in the 1940s.

betsy woods said...

Oh, Lauren, me too!

Mark said...

Lauren, as a writer still waiting (and hoping) to sell my first novel, I can definitely relate to fears about time running out. I sincerely wish you good luck finding time to continue dreaming...

David LaRochelle said...

I loved the photo, and to me it symbolizes a woman who is still being creative and vibrant no matter her age. You are that type of woman, Lauren; you are doing lots of amazingly creative things now, and I don't doubt you will continue to do so your entire life.

Stephanie said...

Love the photo too.