Member Articles

I think this is less a failure of discipline than a failure of realism. I know what’s important to me right now–-spending peaceful time with my family, building a fulfilling career, keeping in touch with a small circle of loved ones, and, yes, writing. The way I know is that, faced with lots of constraints, this is what I choose to spend my time on.

And really, that’s plenty. It’s easy to second-guess your choices in this whole balance game. Why did I spend another night watching “The West Wing” when I could have gone running, or prepped tomorrow’s dinner, or taken down that dusty flute that I still don’t really know how to play? But that time curled up on the couch with my sweetie is a haven these days. We don’t have to plan or think or even talk. I love that easy closeness in the tired twilight hours, and I think that at some level, we need it.

Sometimes I get greedy and want too much–-why can’t I have a beautifully landscaped yard, and a sparkling house, and those slow-simmered meals that I hunger for? But my mission these days is to stay focused on that tiny handful of things that really matter and cheerfully give up on the rest, even if that means that there’s another bottle of garlic powder in my future.