No

by Mary Beth

Created on: October 07, 2008   Last Updated: September 04, 2009

My newborn baby lay in my arms. There were things I had to tell him. I wanted to tell him fun stories about growing up on a farm. I thought they would make good storybooks for him someday. I also wanted to keep a journal of what happened to him as a baby...things that I would forget...things that may interest him when he was older. Motherhood wasn't the end of my writing carreer, it was the beginning.

USING TIME WISELY

Having a baby is work. There are many baby tasks to do and many times during the day you are focused on babies needs. I thought I was going to go crazy because I couldn't get anything done. I was feeding, cleaning, rocking, playing with the baby. I was also doing housework in between times. Sitting at a desk and writing for any length of time was not going to happen. It is then I realized that little snatches of time is betting than nothing. I also learned that women can multitask better than men. I would rock and feed a bottle, and work on a song. Keeping a little journal close, I wrote down parts of stories and poems and songs. I learned to use my time wisely.

WRITING AS THERAPY

Writing was something I could get completed. I did complete a poem. I did finish a song. Think about it...in taking care of a baby, there was never completion. The wash was always there...and dishes, meals, diapers, feedings...it was like riding on a merry-go-round. Writing became for me an escape from the "trapped mother" feeling. I knew I was helping myself both emotionally and possibly in the future, financially. I admit that I was kind of jealous of my husband who, in my mind, finished his day of work and came home. I knew that the time I spent with my baby would have good lasting effects and it was very important and I would see good results in the future for my efforts, but it was hard to think of that future accomplishment. Writing helped me work on something tangible...for the now part of my world.

IT ALL ADDS UP

Motherhood does not spell the end of writing. If your a writer, you still can write everyday...even if it's only for ten minutes. Those minutes turned into a mountain of minutes. I learned to finish one project and then go on to the next. I've heard of writers that had several projects going on at once. That didn't work for me. It was overwhelming. I couldn't sit at a desk for hours and wait to be inspired. I worked on one writing project at a time. That's all I could fit in my head while I was working with the children. I could sing that song over and over. The next line would come. I would be interupted many, many times with questions of why and how come, but when all was quiet again, I could take up the song again. I would pull out the little notebook in my pocket and write down new lines. One project at a time. It all started adding up. One song turned into ten. When the children were toddlers I hired a baby sitter once a week in the evening. I went to a studio and recorded the songs. Don't get discouraged. It all adds up.

SUCCESS!

Now, looking back on the years, I feel I did the right thing in putting the main focus on my children. I have wonderful teens who are contributing to society and they love the Lord. I also have many songs that I have written and sung in churches and at campfires. I tell the stories and my four children laugh. Sometimes I hear them commenting on a song or a poem. Sometimes they find a short story in my writing journals about their past and laugh.

Don't throw any writing away no matter how bad it may seem to you. A creative person can turn something bad into something good. At least you can look at the stacks of papers and realize how much you've accomplished.

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