Some writers do that? Really?
I love to listen to Noe Tanigawa's reports on arts and culture on Hawaii Public Radio. Most times it's 7:30 on a weekday morning, when I'm driving downtown, that Noe's dulcet voice wafts through the stereo speakers.
This morning Noe was airing an interview with Lisa Yee, the featured writer at the Pen Women writers conference at Punahou this weekend. On Saturday, Lisa, who writes novels for young people, will be leading a workshop on revision.
Lisa's interview with Noe was pleasant and informative, including Lisa's revelation that she writes her ending scene first, before anything else. Noe was surprised, but this news did not distract me from my driving. My cruise down Beretania continued to sail along. I was fine.
Moments later, however, Lisa said something that almost caused a wreck. It was all I could do to keep my car from swerving out of its lane, to keep my foot from slamming on the brake or stomping on the accelerator. And this was in a Toyota, so you never know what might have happened.
Lisa Yee
Noe asked Lisa if all her writing worked well with a family life. Lisa replied that she does most of her serious writing at night, from about 10 to 3 in the morning. So far, so good. Then Lisa told some of her deep, dark secrets as a writer/mother. (If you are reading this and driving at the same time, you may want to pull over now.)
Lisa said that when her children were small she would make them go to bed at night in their school clothes, to save time in the morning. What?! And she said it casually, without hesitation, without the slightest hint of embarrassment. Sleeping in their school clothes? Really? This image was so disturbing that I almost missed the next tip for writer/mothers. Lisa said they would make a week's worth of school lunches on Sunday night (peanut butter, yogurt, fruit).
I guess I can live with the weekly lunch ritual, but does anyone else have a problem with the poor innocents' being forced to sleep in their school clothes? Night after night? Year after year? Would this warp their young psyches? As adults would they be retelling these childhood stories to professionals?
cowboy pajamas
Noe thought that Lisa's writer/mother experiences were "great tips." Maybe they are. Perhaps it's just me. As a kid I loved climbing into bed in my pajamas. Pajamas, not school clothes. Preferably with cowboys or baseball players on them. Soft pajamas, in my own warm bed. Drifting off to sleep, to dream cowboy dreams, or baseball dreams. Not school dreams. School was for the daytime.
But I could be wrong. Tonight I think I'll try sleeping in my office clothes (aloha shirt, long pants, belt, socks, but not shoes). That way I'll save time in the morning. And my lunch will be waiting for me (peanut butter, yogurt, fruit). Same lunch as the day before, and the day before that, and the day before that. Hmmm. Somebody talk me out of this! Talk me down! Please!
Tags: Lisa Yee, Noe Tanigawa
April 9th, 2010 at 10:00 am
So these kids have an intelligent, educated, involved mother who works from home so she is able to be there when her kids get home and MAKES THEIR LUNCHES instead of giving them salt and calorie-laden Lunchables junk that is apparently selling quite well these days, judging from the amount of it in my supermarket, and you're going to criticize her for making lunches ahead and depriving the kids of pajamas. I don't know if you are the main caregiver for your children, but if so, I hope you're perfect and, if not, I'm glad I'm not your wife.
April 9th, 2010 at 10:27 am
Seriously? The thought of a mother who plans ahead for the workweek and actually MAKES A HEALTHY LUNCH with her kids instead of having them buy pizza and chicken nuggets at school makes you want to crash your car?
And them thought of these poor deprived kids not being able to wear cowboy pj's would send you (or them) into therapy? Wake up and smell the coffee, dude! And have you actually driven by a high school or middle school lately? Half the kids go to school wearing pyjama pants! So what if the kids wear t-shirts and shorts to bed? They are loved and cared for by a creative and interesting mom.
April 9th, 2010 at 11:33 am
Since high school, I've slept in a tee shirt and comfy yoga pants -- which is also what I generally wear during the day. And my psyche is just fine. I've heard Lisa Yee speak and it's crystal clear that she's very much concerned with her childrens' comfort and happiness. Obviously she isn't putting her kids to bed wearing restrictive formal clothing, and for you to suggest otherwise is alarmist, ridiculous, and grossly unfair to a great writer -- and a great mom.
April 9th, 2010 at 11:33 am
Aw come on...Lisa's kids are lucky they have such a clever and resourceful mother! She lives in California. She's not talking about heavy blue jeans and belts and turtlenecks layered over long johns - she's talking about comfy T-shirts and shorts, which is what my kids wore to bed anyhow! I think you owe Lisa an apology...
April 9th, 2010 at 11:52 am
whoa ladies...
You have to admit, it is a little extreme to have your kids sleep in their school clothes just to shave a few minutes off your morning routine. Are those precious minutes really going to make or break your success as a working writer/mom? Enough to deny a kid the simple pleasure of pajamas?
I don't think the fact that Lisa is a loving and creative mom is in question, or that putting your kids to bed in the clothes they have to wear around ALL DAY the next day is "bad" per se. Just that writers often do strange and sometimes shocking things for their craft- hence the title of this post.
At least that how *I* read it.
*healf heartedly throws a rock at Michael & sticks tongue out*
You meanie man! How dare you defend pajamas!
April 9th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
BTW, I am a big fan of Lisa Yee and can't wait to see her tomorrow at the Hawaii Pen Women Writer's conference.
Plus Mia King, Lee Cataluna, Charles Memminger, Wendy Miyake and Lyz Soto just to name a few!
April 9th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
My mother made me the same lunch every day during six years of elementary school (PBJ, potato chips, and fruit) and I LOVED it! Doesn't seem strange to me in the least.
And kids sleeping in their school clothes, especially if they're something comfortable like a t-shirt and a pair of shorts, hardly sounds like such a disturbing image that it would cause a car crash. I'm going to hope I don't end up behind you on the road - I'd hate to see how you respond when you listen to the news report!
April 9th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
I happen to know Lisa's kids and they are fabulous---loved, secure, smart, healthy, creative, accomplished. So maybe more people should do what Lisa has done as a mother and a writer.
April 9th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
Lisa is amazing. I'm a writer, too, and I am also usually writing at 3 in the morning. I am not going to let my kids read this, though, because I make them go to school in their underwear. I never thought about the "sleeping in clothes" trick. Genius. Pure genius.
April 9th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
Pah-leez. It's not like "school clothes" translates into a suit and tie or even what adults call "business casual." Kids go to school in sweats, t-shirt/shorts, etc. -- all clothing that is as comfortable to sleep in as PJs. I know ... it's not nearly as exciting to report Lisa Yee's tips for revision. Much more titilating to take an innocent comment, blow it out of proportion, and trash the interviewee.
April 9th, 2010 at 3:59 pm
I'm a single dad writer with two sons. My sons sleep in various combinations of clothes or underwear or drawstring pants, depending on the night, or the weather, or any combination of intangibles or the hour.
I can't actually get them in pajamas, even if I wanted to.
I sure wish I'd thought of the making-lunches-a-week-in-advance thing though. And I wish I wrote more regularly from 10-3! So thanks for passing along Lisa's great tips about the single parent/writer's life!
April 9th, 2010 at 4:27 pm
Or to add to my comment --*I'm* applying it to the "single parent" writing life, though I know Lisa is (happily!) married...!
April 9th, 2010 at 5:23 pm
Thank you all for your passion and caring! I have the greatest respect and admiration for mothers and writers. Both pursuits are incredibly demanding and splendid paths on which to journey, and to walk both paths at once is truly brave and wonderful.
The heroines in my novels and short stories, by the way, are all strong, intelligent, caring women. They are more highly evolved than the male characters, who tend to be well intentioned but often clueless.
I enjoyed Lisa's interview and was just having some end-of-the-week fun with the idea of children sleeping in their school clothes. I'm sure they are not scarred for life by the experience. I'm sure that Lisa Yee is a fantastic mother. I'm sure that her children are well fed and well loved.
April 9th, 2010 at 5:34 pm
To continue, I'm also sure that tee shirts and yoga pants are excellent for any time of the day, unlike cowboy pajamas. I'm pretty sure that Misty-Lynn missed me with the rock, although sticking out the tongue did hurt my feelings. What else? Oh yes, I'm sure that I am not a dangerous driver. And I'm sure that my mind is warped from watching way too many episodes of Seinfeld, the show about nothing.
Finally, I'm sure that the target of my humor is more often myself than others. For example, early Monday morning I was driving behind a car with a small sticker in the rear window that said "lo cal girl" and I was trying to decide if that meant Jennie Craig or some other diet. I followed the car for a couple of blocks and then read the sticker again and realized that it said "local girl."
April 9th, 2010 at 8:18 pm
I was just exercising my sarcasm, I wasn't really sticking my tongue out at you. You know, poking a little fun at the "Serious Susans" who may have missed the jovial nature of the post.
I too thought the imagery of children going to bed all gussied up in their day clothes very funny. An image that was only further humorous thinking of you hopping into bed with khakis and an aloha shirt. And the more I thought about it during the day, the funnier it became; like kids sleeping in sailor uniforms, it's a Von Trapp nightmare! See, FUNNY!
April 10th, 2010 at 12:54 am
Misty - As mothers who work, even it if as writers we're fortunate enough to be able to do it from home most of the time, we always struggle with the "Am I a good mother?" question. I'm a single mom with two kids and I'm grateful that I'm able to be home when my kids get back from school but they still complain that I'm "always on the computer" and my daughter will probably, in Michael's words, be "telling childhood stories to professionals" as an adult about the time I had to go to an author event instead of her dance recital, even though I ensured that a cast of relatives would be there in my stead.
You might call us "Serious Susans" but when a man criticizes a woman's mothering, even in jest, it's hitting her at the core of her very being.
April 10th, 2010 at 1:03 am
(cont) How often, during a job interview, does a MAN get asked how he'll balance work and kids?
We're not drugging our kids to sleep so we can go out and party. We're not getting drunk and beating them. We're trying to do the best we can every day for the most loved and cherished people in our lives, and earn a living while we're doing it.
I don't need Michael to give me Bad Mom Guilt - I'm a Jewish Mother, I've got guilt to spare!
April 10th, 2010 at 7:54 am
The earlier posts pointing out that local kids are wearing T-shirts and shorts to school reminds me of something my local boy husband always does. At night he takes his shower and puts on a clean T-shirt and shorts. An hour or so later he goes to bed - and puts on a different T-shirt and pair of shorts! When he gets up in the morning he takes them off for the clean ones from the night before. Think of how much time he could save if he just slept in the them!
April 10th, 2010 at 8:17 am
Makana, it's starting to look as if I need to rename this blog! Instead of "A Little Romance," maybe it should be "A Little Help With Parenting and Sleepwear for Writers and Others." I also like "Wake Up and Smell the Coffee, Dude!" (Thank you, Sarah, for that one.) Shall we have a contest?
In the meantime I'm signing up for sensitivity training for guys. If I can quote myself, "I have the greatest respect and admiration for mothers and writers." Seriously.
April 10th, 2010 at 9:30 am
Oh right, romance. If we extrapolate this discussion to all of us wearing our next day clothes to bed, how would this affect our love lives???
April 10th, 2010 at 9:45 am
Makana, that's an intriguing question. Do I hear a short story percolating?
April 10th, 2010 at 2:32 pm
The NLAPW Conference is great. Lisa Yee was amazing. She's funny, dynamic and gave inspiring advice. If you get a chance to meet her and hear her speak then take it! Mia King is one of the sweetest people I've ever met, Wendy Miyake is hilarious as always. I'm honored to be in the presence of such brilliant authors! It makes me want to go home and write! write! write!