No boredom..

I have this friend who has a little complaining problem. She’s often telling me that she’s bored.

I can’t relate. I bite my tongue and nod, and sometimes say (I’m embarrassed to admit) little condescending things like, “Gee, I hope things get better for you.” Or “That must be hard.” But I don’t really know what that feels like.

One reason for this, I’ve decided, is that I’m connected to, and care about, a zillion friends and extended family members. Someone is ALWAYS having one big life crisis or another. I include myself here, having occasionally been called a “fiasco magnet”.

Sometimes these problems are seriously bad, like divorce, job loss, illness, or even death. Sometimes they are difficult things like losing a cat, getting a rejection letter, or (if you have a teenager) having a seriously bad hair day.

Any of these things can keep emotions running high, and the occasional moments of absence is something to celebrate with a great deal of gratitude. I can sure do without the drama of these negative and painful things.

There is also the other end of the scale, the “good things.” In this list, we can include things like marriages, new babies, kittens and puppies, buying a house, or selling a book.

Sometimes there is a void in this list too. These are rare moments when “real life” takes a rest. Probably that’s where the idea of boredom might come in.

I've figured out why I’m immune. I’m a writer. Even when life is crisis free (hooray!) and there’s nothing new to celebrate (boo!), there’s no end to the little dramas I can make up in my mind at any moment in time. I can be home, or in the line at the supermarket, or driving down the highway. New characters, new plot lines, and escalating conflict are tons of fun and never ending on those “life quiet” days. My mind is always off and running.

This is one reason I’m really glad to be a writer. I seem to live in a “no boredom zone”.

Why are you glad to be a writer (other than those giant advance and royalty checks, right?)?