Fiction author Robin Brande talks about writing, reading, and other vital matters

Having one of those mornings. One of those mornings when I think about that quote from writer Annie Dillard: “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

Read that again if you have to. I know I did the first time I saw it. Because it’s so true and so easy you almost don’t notice that it kind of hurts.

I’m thinking about it this morning because of what I want to do versus all the things I feel like I have to do. The have-to-do’s include grocery shopping, cleaning, bookeeping, decluttering this office (yeah, yeah), reading an entire week’s worth of accumulated newspapers (my obsession that I must let go of), doing laundry, teaching yoga this afternoon. My one get-to-do is going to a fellow novelist’s book party for lunch. Yay! She’s having it catered with Middle Eastern food, which I’ve never had a bite of in my life, so aside from looking forward to celebrating her fabulous book (which I’ll discuss on an upcoming Tuesday Book Club), I’m also way too excited about the grub.

The want-to-do’s are simple: watch a DVD my friend Carolyn sent me, read a book, take a bubble bath, generally slack off in every possible way. I wish I were taking yoga this afternoon instead of teaching it, but that’s how it is. I wish I wish I wish all sorts of things all the time.

Which is why I have to consider Annie Dillard’s words once again. Because this is how easy it is to get off track. How do I want to spend my life? (In no particular order:) I want to be a novelist. A dog mom. A great friend. A kind and fun and loving wife. The best aunt a child could ever imagine. A positive force in the world. A good daughter, stepmother, sister, cousin, sister-in-law.

Don’t see “superior grocery shopper” anywhere on there. Or “world’s most organized woman.” Or “queen of ironing.”

Yes, I know that someone has to take care of the ADLs (Activities of Daily Living), and that usually if I don’t do something around here it doesn’t get done, but I think it’s worth declaring that I’ll do just one ADL a day, rather than ten. I think it’s worth deciding that it’s more important for me to meditate for an hour every morning than to get started on the laundry and the e-mailing and the soup-making.

So I think today we’ll whittle down the list to this one simple thing: Enjoy. Whatever fits into that word can stay, whatever doesn’t has to go.

At least for today.

Technorati Tags: Annie Dillard, Simplification, Simplify Your Life

Posted on Saturday, February 17th, 2007 at 9:35 am under Life . Subscribe to responses: RSS 2.0 Comment Feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.