It's midterm at Marianopolis College where I teach -- and we're all going a little bit bonkers. The students have assignments and tests. We teachers have piles of correcting -- and because I juggle writing with teaching, I've got writing deadlines looming too.
So, in all of my classes this week, I've made a little time to talk about Anne Lamott, an American novelist whose advice comes in handy this time of year.
"Bird by bird," Lamott tells us.
Bird By Bird? It's the title of Lamott's book about writing. And there's a great story behind the title. When Lamott's brother was a kid, he had to do a project about birds and he was feeling overwhelmed. When he told his dad about his situation, his dad advised him: "Bird by bird."
I think about those words a lot when my life gets super busy.
If I think about all the things I need to do in the next couple of weeks, well... I might not want to get out of bed tomorrow morning! But if I tackle one task at a time, go bird by bird, it doesn't seem nearly so bad.
Anyway, that's it for today's blog entry. That's because I've got to go and do a little work on one of my birds before bedtime! Good luck with your sparrows and finches and exotic parrots!