Time to Write

It's time to write! You don't need to glance at your watch. It's not literally the moment to pick up a pen, now at 6:47pm Eastern Standard Time. I'm not referring to the time of day, or to the amount of time one needs to accomplish a task, or to that time of the month most of us know so well. I mean life. It's my TIME to write.

I wrote stories as a little girl. HEATHER'S WISH (a tale about a girl and a horse) was a two-installment sequel I wrote in 1st and 2nd grades. The writing was decent for a pigtail-wearing kid in the 80's, the illustrations were atrocious by any standards, but I was hooked!

I was the kid who was picked last to be on anyone's team in gym class but first in line for the essay contests. I was the teenager who entered writing competitions instead of throwing back wine coolers on the weekends. Middle School Newspaper creator and Editor at a tiny private school in the freezing-cold Midwest. High School Yearbook Editor at a slightly bigger school in the freezing-cold Midwest.

Then time passed by.

There was the time I spent making out with my high school boyfriend instead of studying for math tests. I still wrote in the background, mostly love notes which we passed back and forth each day. There was the time I spent planning our wedding while attending college and working full-time as a coach and waitress. I still wrote in the background, mostly essays for school and lists of things to do. There was the time I lost my first son, delivering him too early. I grieved and mourned and cried and wrote in the background, mostly blog posts about all the deep feelings I was unable to articulate to anyone in person.

There was the span of time where I had three healthy and beautiful children and made a career as a dance teacher and choreographer. I still wrote in the background, mostly correspondence with elementary teachers and text messages to friends when I was able to carve out a few minutes for adult conversation.

There was the time I finally left the freezing-cold Midwest for sunshine and palm trees. I directed several different dance groups and became what my husband calls a "professional volunteer" at the kids' schools. I still wrote in the background, mostly invoices and chore charts.

My entire life I've been writing. Always in the background. Between diaper changes and baseball games I've typed up the crazy ideas that pop into my head. I've had a few novels outlined and one fully written for years. Between laundry and teaching ballet I've jotted down short stories and essays. These finished products have been living in my computer screens for a decade. Each time I get a new laptop I have to re-download the writing software I use and transfer the files. I transfer each document, read through them all with fresh eyes, remember that I like what I have written, make plans to write more often, then go back to reminding my kids to brush their teeth and drinking iced coffee to have energy for work.

NOW IS THE TIME TO SEEEEIIIIZZZEEE THE DAY! I hope you sang that in your best internal Newsies' voice. But really. This blog, on this website, under this name is proof. No more writing in the background. It's time to be loud and proud and finally do the darn thing. I am good at sharing my chaos with the world on the regular, I might as well share my stories as well! Get ready to read. Because it is time to write!

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