My Muse is not Amused!

In my blog bio, I write how I homeschool my son and have been doing so for five years. I mentioned that it takes time and energy away from my writing. After the first month of teaching 6th grade, I have to say that my own personal writing is officially non-existent. I haven't even had time to attend my monthly writer's group. While I feel saddened by not being able to create in this way, I also can't begin to imagine where I would find the energy or enthusiasm. To say that my muse has fled is an understatement. She (or I don't know, maybe it's a he) has left the building. See ya, Elvis! Or maybe he's left the county, state, country, in which case, maybe I should hire Dog the Bounty Hunter to chase him down.

But if my muse returned, would he feel insulted? I mean he could come back, perch on my shoulder, fill my mind with all sorts of great ideas, but I'd be so bogged down with devising lesson plans to help my son understand the lives of the ancient Sumerians, Egyptians, Israelites, Greeks and Romans and to create a timeline that identifies their top 50 historical contributions that . . . what? Oh right, I was talking about my muse. Did he say his name was Nimrod? And wait . . . was the Tower of Babel the biggest ziggurat every built?

I think I'm just as confused as the people whose language the Lord jumbled up. I consider myself to be a fairly organized person, yet I can't seem to grasp control of my time lately. Too many "to dos" with homeschool gobbling up the bulk of my resources.

Today is Saturday. "Whew!" you might think. But no. While school's out for the weekend, there are weekend chores. But those are actually on hold because I have to get Luke to a Scout Patrol paint party this morning; and I have my own painting to do. My family started to paint the entire exterior of the house weeks ago, but a couple of spots are still waiting their turn. I'll be holding a cup of paint in one hand, a brush in the other and standing on a ladder. Instead I'd rather be holding a cup of coffee and a chocolate-dipped biscotti, while sitting in a deck chair riverside in the mountains. That's a far better way to celebrate the first day of fall!

So muse or no, I don't have time to write--except maybe this blog. A picture book it isn't, but at least I have this moment to express my ideas and let my fingers fly over the keyboard. And the outside of my house is no illustration, but my hands do get to hold a paintbrush.

I'm always looking for the silver lining. Perhaps that's the name of my muse.