Mom or Author

I have always been prone to getting lost in my own imagination. I've also been known to be so consumed in a book that I burn dinner or forget to sleep. If you asked me, when I was younger, what I wanted to be when I grew up you received two answers. "A Mommy" and "A Writer". These two halves that make a whole me have always tugged me in different directions.

While in high school I received my first ever typewriter. I know this dates me terribly but it was probably one of the best presents ever. I went through countless sheets of paper, ribbons of ink and Wite-Out composing stories from my imagination. My junior year I took a creative writing course as an elective and was consumed with writing for that entire year. The positive feedback was exhilirating and intoxicating, inducing me to write more and more.

As often happens, life interrupted my love affair with putting words to paper. I lost my beloved grandmother, found my true love, and decided to be a mommy. Just like with my writing, I threw myself headfirst into being a mommy. I became consumed with being a perfect mom. My first daughter was born in 1997, a second followed in 2000, and our hat trick girl was born in 2005.

Then something amazing happened while I was busy being a mother. I discovered that I had enough room in my life for both of my career ambitions. I could be a mom and an author. This of course requires a lot of energy as both are demanding professions in which one must be hands on and constantly looking for ways to improve. There are times when I find that one has to take a back seat for the other, motherhood coming before writing nearly every time, but that's okay. It's fine because I know that just like my children I could never abadon my writing. It might have to wait for the dishes to be done, but I will come back to the keyboard and once again get lost in my words.