Continuing to write when life is being difficult

As in throwing temper tantrums at you and attempting to thwart you at every turn. lol. I know this is a normal part of adulthood, but it SUCKS. :-)

So lately a dear friend has been depressed, husband has been having a hard time at work, i have a new boss which is great except it takes a lot of my energy and is a bit stressful until things get settled, there are a lot of chores around the house piling up, my porch needs shoring up because a bit of the dirt under it has sunk so I need to get that fixed before the PORCH FALLS OFF. Hmm. That would also suck. Oh, and my dog needs to get to the vet because she has a small growth on her leg I need to get checked out. And my hubby needs a tooth pulled. The list goes on and on.

I don't even have kids. I can't imagine how that would just magnify everything tenfold.

Anyway, so today's topic is how the hell do you keep writing amidst the chaos? How do you keep yourself motivated when you keep getting rejected amidst the chaos?

For me, these are the reasons I write:

1. I need a creative outlet. Something that gives my life some meaning and direction beyond what I happen to do at my day job.
2. I do it because I like it. Even when it's tedious.
3. I like to write what I wish was on the shelves.
4. I do want to get published someday. The external validation would be lovely.
5. It helps keep my depressed friend less depressed. :-) I give her my progress reports and I think it cheers her up.
6. It really helps me to spend part of my day every day not in my real life. Life is just so much more interesting inside my head. Scary thought, but there it is.
7. It's sort of what I'm meant to do. It feels right, and I get in a bitchy mood if I miss a few days.
8. I ain't getting any younger. Every day I'm not writing is one more day I've missed an opportunity.

SO, that all being said, once a day I tell everything to go to hell and I sit down and write. Guilt still eats at me for not doing the dishes and whatnot, but I figure on my death bed I'm not going to exactly care. I WILL care if I'm on my deathbed and I didn't live some part of my life the way I wanted to.