Watering the Lawn

I'm tired of life getting in the way of everything I want.

Like writing. How can I write anything when my lawn is burning up in the backyard? There are too many other things calling me. I can't possibly cross everything off my to-do list today. I can't possibly listen to all the voices in my head. There's a reason why there are so many wanna-be writers out there who claim to want to write, but never do. Please don't let me turn into one of them.

I sat in my empty classroom today and wrote. I sat there for an hour and probably wrote for a total of 12 minutes. Most of my time was spent staring, or thinking, or getting side tracked, or dozing off.

Sometimes I feel like such a hack. 

But writing is hard work. So is watering the lawn. It requires time. And effort. It is not exciting. I want to say that again, it is not exciting. You will never see a reality show where you watch people water their lawns. And you will never see a reality show where you watch people write. Because it ain't good TV. It's boring. 

But the lawn must be watered. Every day. Especially in this heat. Especially when you're off in the summer and you have free time. Especially when you have to look at that lawn every day. And especially when you know what it could look like. Especially when you go to your dad's house and see what your lawn will look like in 20 years. 

Grab a hose, grab a sprinkler, put a hat on, and go outside and water. If you have automatic timers on your lawn, then you don't need my advice. Your lawn's fine. But we ain't all rich. Some of us have to wake up early and go outside. Some of us have to stand there with the hose while we imagine what it should look like. What it could look like. We have to sacrifice time with our kids to keep things green.

Warning: no matter how much you water, it will never be green enough.