We are approximately two months away from 4 convention appearances. This means email has been flying fast and furious. I’m answering email about panel scheduling from Penguicon at the end of April. I’m discussing art for the Balticon program at the end of May. I’m throwing panel suggestions into consideration for CONduit which is also at the end of May. And I’m realizing that I really need to email the bookstore contact for a lecture Howard will be giving at LDS Storymakers mid-May. So far I’ve only messed up and sent information to the wrong place once.
I handle this kind of organization for Howard regularly. In theory this allows him to focus on writing a funny comic and creating bonus materials for the books. The reality is that the administrative tasks spill all over everything. We are constantly asking each other opinions and making sure we agree on how to handle the crisis of the moment. Yes, there is pretty much always a crisis. There is always some thing that we really should have gotten done several weeks ago.
This is supposed to be our year of settling in and smoothing out our process. We’re supposed to be balancing periods of calm with periods of stress. I pictured us alternating between the two, rather like people who have a regular home and a vacation home. Instead it is much more like two puddles of paint. The more we move around, the more the red gets tracked into the green and it all gets mixed up together until everything is greyish brown. Then I want to wash the plate and start over. If only I could find the time to wash a plate.
This year does feel more balanced. It is a little hard to see it at the moment because this month is really lopsided and work heavy. But I still believe the year will be good. I also have to remember that this mixing of work and family is actually one of the benefits of the kind of work that we do. Many people around the world would love to able to work from home simply so that they can be available for more family events. So instead of washing the plate clean, I need to be finding joy in the swirls of mixed colors.