As an independently employed person, constant work is my blessing and my curse.  It’s a blessing because I get paid to do what I adore and am passionate about. It is a curse because I always have homework.

When I was invited to Prague recently, I probably should have said no because I have a lot of homework.  But I’m disciplined, and I know that I can shut out everything and get work done.  So, I said “Yes!” with the caveat that I would work in the mornings, and save the rest of the waking hours for sightseeing.

Well, prevarication is another blessing/curse of the independently employed life.  My intent was pure as the driven snow. But faced with the fancifully resplendent architecture of Prague, the kind people, the vintage Czech garnets and crystal winking from every window, the ancient cobbled streets and the palpable history, I avoided a certain truth.

I worked, of course I did, slipping in emails and paragrahs, researching obscure subjects while the sun shone outside and the smells of grilling pork filled the air.  But I didn’t work as much as I might have and I now have more homework than ever.

The moral of this tale?  None, really, except that homework and prevarication are simply the window dressings of a certain freedom.  Sometimes they seem a high price to pay, but freedom has never come cheap.

And as a P.S., if you’re invited to visit Prague, say yes.  You’ll get your homework done.