Author: Jackie Pick

Jackie Pick is a former teacher and current writer living in the Chicago area. She is a contributing author to multiple anthologies, including Multiples Illuminated, So Glad They Told Me: Women Get Real about Motherhood, Here in the Middle, as well as the and the literary magazines The Sun and Selfish. She received Honorable Mention from the Mark Twain House and Museum for her entry in the Royal Nonesuch Humor Writing Competition. Jackie is a contributing writer at Humor Outcasts, and her essays have been featured on various online sites including McSweeney's, Belladonna Comedy, Mamalode, The HerStories Project, and Scary Mommy. A graduate of the University of Chicago and Northwestern University, Jackie is co-creator and co-writer of the award-winning short film Fixed Up, and a proud member of the 2017 Chicago cast of Listen To Your Mother.

Do Artistic Gods Hate Deadlines?

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My kids have been alternating illnesses for the last four weeks. It came to a head last night — two boys equally sick at the same time, rather than one waxing and one waning.

Nights are long, days are long…the poor babies cannot sleep comfortably, and until the wee coughs clear up, the prognosis isn’t bright.

Needless to say, in those 20 or so minutes I have a day where they are both sleeping, I’m in no condition to create. I keep my notebook next to me at all times, just in case an idea comes to me…and some have…but longer chunks of time, for me, mean longer chunks of writing.

Admittedly, the word “chunks” right now isn’t the most appealing. Stomach bug + cough for one little boy is ugly. UGZ.

I’m happy with how it’s going, though, just frustrated with lack of time.

Which means I should probably not be blogging right now.

I am very very grateful that all the boys have is this level of illness. I have a newfound appreciation for what I think parents of chronically ill children go through. If I’m this frazzled and worried about coughs and barfing, I cannot imagine the aches involved with more serious illnesses.