I've heard from several friends who write full time that they have child care in the summers or when their kids are at home, and I think it's a great idea. Your work at home has to be treated like any other job, and if you left for the day, you'd need child care, so I'm very encouraged to see this trend, since I think it's probably too easy for families/spouses to think "hey, you're home all day, what do you need a babysitter for?" Obviously, I'm not talking about my own spouse -- we've already discussed that if we adopt, we will need daytime childcare -- but in general, I think a lot of writers struggle with this.

I'm also glad you found your spot. In the winter, I was going to the local B&N to write, but for the summer, i actually like staying home -- if we do adopt and have childcare, it would probably be a dayschool kind of thing etc where the kid leaves the house instead of me... LOL. But I do like getting out of the house to work sometimes too...

Sam

That we have "our" places and nothing else will do?

We used to have a little local deli and I just loved it there. They knew me, they knew what I meant when I said light cream cheese (meaning a smear, not the half fat kind), they didn't turn up their nose when I ordered an onion bagel (toasted) with light cream cheese and strawberry jam.

I made friends with the wait staff. It was a place for me to get away during the day when the office was too much.

Then they revamped and remodeled. Gone were the funky little corners and the old sofa. Gone were the bagels (after 10 am), gone were some of the wait staff.

I don't even "see" it anymore as I drive pass. It's no longer on my radar (in fact, I don't know if it's still open).

I never did find another place that suited as well. :-(

ani

LOL! Smart folks hide from my kids. Between the special needs of my son, who has yet to figure out that what he thinks and what he says don't have to be the same thing at the same time, and the volume on my girls, babysitters are thin on the ground.

I'm supposed to get my teenage niece for a few weeks this summer. I'm hoping she can get me a few hours in my room to get my writing done. One hopes anyway.

Congrats on your pages!
Dee

But sometimes the old ones work the best :) Like your favorite pair of pants or pen... So glad you got lots done! Did the kids have a good time with the sitter? (A good one is worth his or her weight in gold ;))

I wish I could hire a babysitter to watch the kids so I could write. But that's pretty much impossible considering I am the town babysitter. What was I thinking volunteering for this job? Gawd...

But, seriously... Glad you got your yummy flavored coffee and even more glad you got some writing done. :P

My kids went to daycare twice a week during the summer when they were young. It was a sanity saver, and I was a very involved mom. Sometimes, though, I needed to be someone other than a mom. I considered it my gift to myself.

Once I nest in a place, I do not like to change. I'm very territorial.

I still work in an out-of-the-house office environment, but I stay home one day a week-Mondays-for extra writing time while my husband is at work and my son is in school. Even so, I sometimes get asked to run errands during the day, and people will say "why can't you come out for lunch, it's not like you're working today". I used to get upset that noone else seemed to see what I do as work. I mean, I spend more time on the computer when I'm home that one day than I do all week at the office. But now I've learned not to let it bother me, and I just politely explain that it will have to be another time. I don't mind using my evenings for errands and weekends for visiting, but Mondays are strictly for writing.

But this summer will be different. I'm on a deadline for the first of October, and while I'll still have my Mondays off, both my husband and son are home all summer long. I'm trying to figure out how to handle it.

J.K. Coi
Immortals To Die For
www.jkcoi.com