Working with Children and Animals

I have always loved animals but this morning I am not loving them so much. Yesterday the dogs spent much of their time indoors due to the pouring rain. This same weather prevented me from walking them and they were obviously somewhat annoyed about this as they left their 'comments' on the lounge room floor overnight for my husband to notice mid spoonful of his weetbix bites at breakfast. It probably wasn't the parallels drawn between nuggets that prompted him to hastily clean away the mess but it did not an appetising breakfast make. For myself, my nerves rose before I did when I woke to the sound of hungry chickens way before they were due to be out of their hen house. As I am sure I could hear the grinding of my neighbours teeth from their beds, I stumbled outside giving the chickens a mighty " Shush" command. Now chickens do not understand "shush". If they paused for a second at all it was probably because I startled them for a moment with my brightly coloured dressing gown. Then they just cocked their heads, blinked and continued their piercing squaaaaaaarks. I stomped back inside and harrumphed around the kitchen grabbing food for them, throwing a treat for the dogs who were jumping around me excitedly wanting their breakfast.
When I did feed the chickens I was unhappy to note that the place I put my hand to balance was the exact same spot the worlds largest chicken poop had been deposited. I wondered later if the noise I made then had been interpreted by the neighbours as the sound a chicken might make having got an egg stuck mid-vent. There was another toileting accident later this morning too but that involved one of my children, a toilet seat and a moment of poor judgement and I'd best leave it at that.
Needless to say that sometimes trying to work at home is a huge challenge at times. To be able to type away in peace without the demand of family, menagerie or home is a skill I have yet to master. I was recommended a great book on this subject of juggling, which I am reading at the moment. It's called The Divided Heart by an Australian author called Rachel Power (who has a great blog too as I discovered) who basically went and interviewed a pile of creative mum's about how they juggled their work with their family and home. The women interviewed are writers, various types of artists, dancers, theatre people etc. It's very interesting reading and it makes you feel as though you are in good company rather that slowly going mad all alone. Their was one quote given that stood out and which I have written on my bedroom wall by the door. " If it matters, I'll get it done. If it doesn't get done, it didn't matter enough."
Albeit sometimes spattered with manure, this really helps me turn up to my work. And sometimes you need all the help you can find.