Time and Punctuation

Tomorrow, I get my time back.  Well, at least between 9am and 3pm.

My kids go back to school, two gone by 7:3o, the third by 8:30.

I ought to be full of exclamation points.  Hours of uninterrupted time on the computer without worry that someone will exit my editing or an unsaved writing sample to play a video game!  Hours without hearing kids' TV unless I want to watch it as research!  Hours of not negotiating fights!  Hours of being able to accomplish!  Wait, what am I trying to accomplish?

Some time between when the kids came back from their grandparents' and now, the last day before the first day of school, there suddenly became a whole lot of question marks.

When you're working, there are a lot of definites.  A lot of periods.  You need to be at work at a definite time.  Period.  So you have to leave home at a definite time and take a definite train.  Period.  There are definite hours when you need childcare, and there is a definite time when you'll be home.  Period.  (Well, okay, not necessarily when you work on a soap opera).  And some days, if they're really good, there's an exclamation point!

When you're looking for work, it's all about the question marks.

Will anyone call me today about a job?  Will I be able to get last minute childcare if someone does call me today about a job?  Why shouldn't I eat the cookies on the counter?  They're here, I'm here, and I did go to the gym today, didn't I?  Do I say "Writer" first in my LinkedIn profile or "Director"?  Or "Editor"?  Does anyone really know what an AD is?  Do I really have to clean the house just because I'm home and everyone else is out?

Though this may not continue when I wake them at 6:30am, my kids are right now so excited about school (exclamation point!) that I hereby resolve that, starting at 5:30am (when I'll get up--gulp!), to live by the exclamation point.  Write those letters!  Send those resumes!  Go for coffee!  (the caffeinated version, of course--this is exclamation point time!)  

And use every one of those minutes until 3:00!