I’m sitting down at my writing desk this morning, in a new home, again. To count I’ve lived in six different homes within the last year. I don’t know if that explains why the words are coming slow this morning, but I think it is part of it. To really write I need to settle in, and get deeply immersed in a project. Like Jay-Z once rapped, “The more space I get the better I write.”
The reason I’ve lived in so many different homes in the last year, is because I am a house sitter. It’s a career that has serendipitously come about, in a synchronistic way. I never planned for it to happen, but here in Durango, Colorado one has to be creative to survive. It’s a place where many outdoor enthusiasts want to live, and competition is high for any and all forms of employment. Plus house sitting is ideal for the writer, no roommates to distract, and typically the houses I watch are nicer than something I could afford myself. I get to pretend it’s mine for awhile.
For the first time since February 1st I am not house sitting. I’m renting a place for a couple months from my good friends who recently bought a house. My room is large, there are pine trees and blue skies out my writing window, a current of traffic goes by the canyon road that the room is perched above, and I no longer have animals to attend to. Since February I have been responsible for 30 different animals: two cats, three dogs, four pigs, four horses, and 17 chickens.
My room is somewhat set up, and I’m delighted that I have a place for the books I’ve been shuttling around in boxes. But the mind, the writing, this morning my mind is getting used to a new place. I usually write the best once I am comfortable in a place. This morning I’m stumbling over my own words.
So I take a break. I go downstairs and add to my coffee cup. My new roommate (one of five) is down there, we talk about climbing, he’s getting into it. We also talk about breakdancing, he is a b-boy. I’ve wanted to meet a real breakdancer my entire life, and now I’ve living with one! He mentions how there are very few people into breakdancing in Durango. He talks about how difficult it is to practice everyday, to stay on top of his game, and to stay motivated.
I think about this and how it compares to my writing. It is an endless challenge, one I have committed to meeting. Writing everyday, that is what a writer has to do. Today is a day of beginning. Great things will happen in this writing space. I just have to take this first step of stumbling, of daring to begin. The more space I get the better I write. I have space. I have time. I have the motivation to begin.
The reason I’ve lived in so many different homes in the last year, is because I am a house sitter. It’s a career that has serendipitously come about, in a synchronistic way. I never planned for it to happen, but here in Durango, Colorado one has to be creative to survive. It’s a place where many outdoor enthusiasts want to live, and competition is high for any and all forms of employment. Plus house sitting is ideal for the writer, no roommates to distract, and typically the houses I watch are nicer than something I could afford myself. I get to pretend it’s mine for awhile.
For the first time since February 1st I am not house sitting. I’m renting a place for a couple months from my good friends who recently bought a house. My room is large, there are pine trees and blue skies out my writing window, a current of traffic goes by the canyon road that the room is perched above, and I no longer have animals to attend to. Since February I have been responsible for 30 different animals: two cats, three dogs, four pigs, four horses, and 17 chickens.
My room is somewhat set up, and I’m delighted that I have a place for the books I’ve been shuttling around in boxes. But the mind, the writing, this morning my mind is getting used to a new place. I usually write the best once I am comfortable in a place. This morning I’m stumbling over my own words.
So I take a break. I go downstairs and add to my coffee cup. My new roommate (one of five) is down there, we talk about climbing, he’s getting into it. We also talk about breakdancing, he is a b-boy. I’ve wanted to meet a real breakdancer my entire life, and now I’ve living with one! He mentions how there are very few people into breakdancing in Durango. He talks about how difficult it is to practice everyday, to stay on top of his game, and to stay motivated.
I think about this and how it compares to my writing. It is an endless challenge, one I have committed to meeting. Writing everyday, that is what a writer has to do. Today is a day of beginning. Great things will happen in this writing space. I just have to take this first step of stumbling, of daring to begin. The more space I get the better I write. I have space. I have time. I have the motivation to begin.
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