Open Letter to E

A week ago, I received an email from E to which I did not respond.  E, this entry is for you:

Dear E,

You sent me an email about the two hours I spent painting almost every morning while we were on vacation.  In looking back on your email, I feel ashamed.  I am ashamed that I've allowed you to think that I do this as a matter of course in my "at home" life.  That is not what happens.

As an example, today D had to leave early for an appointment.  He wasn't here for most of the morning so there was no one to distract me from painting for two hours without interruption.  He didn't need to be here as I did a great job of distracting myself.  First there was a shower followed by cleaning two bathrooms' showers and a tub.  Laundry came next. Tidying the studio took a great deal of time because I've been working on several projects, and the morning was gone.

You see, E, I haven't continued working as I did on vacation.  Like you used to do, I've developed a habit of scheduling appointments for the first thing in the morning and have a habit of doing chores before doing anything else because I worry that the chores won't be done if I wait until afternoon.  

Now I say, "So what if they don't get done?"  Grab a small piece of E's courage and change my self-imposed schedule.  It was easy to do on vacation - it wasn't my house!  But since I spent only 2 hours painting, if I did that here, like you I would still have time to "take care of business".

Thank you for that letter.  I didn't deserve it, but you have made me think about why I don't and what I can do about it.

Love,

N

Let's see if I have something to show tomorrow!