#Authorlifemonth is a campaign that showcases what it’s like to be an author or a writer. Writers, published and unpublished, share photos and snippets on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or any other social media, answering questions that give people the glimpse into their daily glamorous routines! 🙂

Jumping in midway here — and this isn’t going to be an everyday thing. Just a once in a while thing! Still, looks like fun. So here we go.

Day 11: Biggest Distraction

That would be my day job as a sixth-grade English teacher!

Anyone who knows what teaching is like will not be surprised to read this. I have 88 students, each with their own brilliance, each deserving of utmost love and attention. I am not here just to teach them, I am here to inspire and care for them, to celebrate them in their highest moments, be there in their lowest and let them know they are still okay. I teach four English classes, one advisory and learning skills-type class, and one support class. There is lesson-planning, lunch tutoring, after school tutoring, parent meetings, staff meetings, questions on the weeknights, grading on the weekends.

Through it all, how do I even find time to write?

I just do.

Not a lot. But enough.

Enough to know that I am a writer.

And here is the crazy part:

Back when I was home with my kiddos, years ago, a busy, frazzled stay-at-home mama with her head in the fantasy worlds, I don’t actually know if I was that much more productive than I am today. There were days – many days — when I wrote a lot more than I do now. But there were weeks, and whole months, even, when I wrote nothing at all.

Now I write every single day. In 2018, I have only made one exception. That was on the day of my grandmother’s funeral.

Overall, then, when you average it, I am sure my distraction isn’t that much of a distraction, after all.

Like all teachers, I am tired. Bring on the snow days!

But on the other hand, my crazy day job feeds me — and not just literally, either. The kids’ outlandish ideas energize me. Their antics make me laugh. My antics make them widen their eyes and raise their eyebrows. I learn from them every day, and once in a while, they even learn something from me.

It works out!

Fellow writers, what is your biggest — and loveliest — distraction?