As I write today the shades are drawn, the air conditioning is on and summer is here in earnest. Today (7:09 PM EST) is the first day of summer. It is my son's first full week without school. Schedules are shifting and obligations are changing. Contrary to my "work every day" goal, I have missed a few days in this transition period. I need to stay on task and carve out new routines for myself. One motivating factor is deadlines. I am entered in a couple of exhibits in the next few months and I have mentally committed to bigger projects that will be due in year's end, so I know that I need to keep working steadily. Deadlines can feel onerous and arbitrary, but I try to view them as tools to help keep me on target. Life has a way of insinuating itself between me and certain objectives. As a mom who has stayed home with my children, I put a high value on those earnest life moments, but as an individual and an artist, I realize that achieving my goals requires commitment and completing projects. In also requires participating in exhibits and keeping my work in the public eye. That means meeting deadlines. So rather than view them as coldhearted taskmasters, I see deadlines as my morning alarm clock, a tool that helps keep me on track for what I hope to be doing every day!