The Shadow and the Shimmer

I have writing withdrawal and I feel it in my BONES! Lately, I haven't been writing much. Something about having two babies under 18 months old seems to keep me fairly occupied, with not so  much free time for personal projects. Buuuut….I need to do it. I've been working on my book, for what seems like a million years. It's "in progress" (like me!) but this week, I finally allowed myself to lower my expectations about when it will be published. For some reason, I have been feeling like I just NEED to publish by the end of this year. As if I need to validate what I've been up to professionally in the last couple of years. Why?? I need to really let go of the self-imposed deadlines and pressure. Writing a book is important, but right now, my mom work is more important. My babies are young and need my full attention, and I want to give it to them 100%. I just feel like I'm forcing too hard if I push to publish for a specific date, when I really want t...