Here in Massachusetts it’s the week of February Break. It’s like Spring Break, only in February. Pretty self-explanatory. My 10-year-old son has the week off and I, the parent who is fortunate enough to be able to work from home, is responsible for entertaining him.
My sense of time is totally wrecked and my work day has been poured into the gaps of my son’s winter break.
What I mean is that the parts of my day that are normally dedicated to making comics and working on Patreon updates are normally uninterrupted blocks of time, but during vacation weeks they become fluid and need to be poured into whatever gaps in the day can be filled. An hour or so here in between activities with my son. An hour or two here while he entertains himself because the older he gets the lamer I become to him. The time normally spent relaxing in the evening with my family becomes filled with working hours, because that’s the time my wife is finally home from work.
There’s a part of me that feels almost resentful about my comics-time being poured into wherever it can fit during vacation weeks. Like my livelihood takes a back seat and to whatever my son wants to do. On the other hand, I realize I am extraordinarily lucky to have as flexible a schedule as I do, and can dedicate significant time during the day to him.
I’m certain I’m going to miss all this one day, when he’s a teenager fully capable of entertaining himself all day and doesn’t want anything to do with his dad’s lame games, activities, and comics.
But until then, I’m going to appreciate this while also bitching and moaning about school breaks liquifying my precious blocks of time.