I should get serious about photography?

I don’t know whether to laugh or cry or tell my mother where she can go.  I’m leaning toward laughing because that’s usually what I do when I’d rather cry or tell someone where to go, particularly when it’s someone I like.  And I do like my mother.  Even when she ticks me off.  Like tonight.

Here I am doing the most ridiculous data entry in the history of data entry, at 8pm at night – after working a full day, just to make an extra $50 when my mother sends mail asking me for a copy of a photo I took.  I open a tab at flickr, copy the photo and send it as an attachment, telling her she could have gotten it herself if she had been logged in.

Fast forward to 10pm and I’m still doing the data entry in order to make an extra $50 and trying to decide if I’m going to work another part-time gig when I’m finished or am I going to finish up a report for my "real job" since the time I normally do that tomorrow I’ll be at the doctor’s office with Michelle or at SFCC with Michelle picking up her books.  Whatever, I’m a long way from going to sleep and my mother emails me again.  She knew she could get the photo off flickr, she wanted the much better quality original of the Heir to the Throne’s feet because she wanted to print it.  And she proceeded to lecture me about saving originals and printing my photos "if I was serious about my photography". 

Umm huh?  Like I have time for that?  What would ever lead her to believe I was serious about photography?  Or had time to even consider being serious about photography?  I work a full time job, 2 part-time jobs and I take contract work as often as I can.  I have a gazillion children (granted 3 are gone at the moment but still) and a gazillion animals.  NO I AM NOT SERIOUS ABOUT MY PHOTOGRAPHY.

And then what happens, TW who has been snoring next to me for two hours rolls over and says "I really like that photo of the girl and the turkey."  Umm what?  What photo? What turkey? What girl?  God, she probably expects me to get serious about my photography too because the almighty sent her a message in a dream.  Denise should photograph girls and turkeys for a living! Get serious about your art.

Whatever.