I don't know why I have such a hard time referring to myself as a writer. Maybe it's because I've only been seriously writing for less than a year. Maybe it's because being an English teacher has defined me for so long. But probably it's because I'm afraid. Afraid that I'll never be good enough to see my books sitting on the shelves at Barnes and Noble. Afraid that I'll never be able to quit my day job to write full time. Afraid that I'll never truly reach my writing dreams from over a decade ago.
Yet, my son has no trouble with it. I received the best Mother's Day gift from my eight-year-old: the validation that I am a writer! This is what he wrote in his fill-in-the-blank Mother's Day card that he made at school:
"My mom is a writer and an English teacher. She likes to read long books and write stories. She always tries to write 500 words every night."
If my son can call me a writer, then why can't I? He even put it before my day job! And I love the word goal that he's put into writing. How can I not fulfill it when my sweet little boy is watching out for me, making sure that I obtain what I want to accomplish?
The greatest joy for me will be if I can teach my boys that they can achieve anything they want in life with a lot of determination and hard work. I will publish books that will sit on book stores' shelves, I will be a full time writer, and I will reach my writing dreams. Thank you, my two sons, for your belief in me.
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11 comments:
What a wonderful mother's day gift. And you are a writer. You write don't you? What else would you call yourself? So what if you're not published yet? It's what you do - you write. There's nothing wrong with refering to yourself as a 'writer'.
If you had Phd in Biology, yet you hadn't offically found a permantent position working as one in a lab, surely you would still call yourself a biologist, right?
Excuse the typos ;)
Happy Mother's Day! That's really cute how much your son believes in you. And he picks up on details like the word count: wow!
That is so ridiculously sweet! And true too. You're a writer because you write!
What a fantastic boy you have. You'll have to pin that card up where you can see it when you forget you're a writer. :)
Good lesson to believe in yourself the way your son believes in you.
I struggled with the term "writer" too, but if you write, you're a writer. You can even be called an author, albeit an unpublished one. Dancers are allowed to dance even if it's not professionally. We're too hard on ourselves.
Happy Mother's Day.
You inspire me EVERY time I read your posts to take up a pen (or computer keyboard) and write, write, write. You are quite amazing, Ms. Writer! rbs
You are so lucky to have such beautiful children. I love your son! Happy Mother's Day!
I love this! We waited a long time to tell anyone we were writing. I still have to be reminded to share it! I'm not sure what it is. What a great role model you are for your son though!
Happy late Mother's Day! Hope you had a great one. How cute is your son?
How sweet that he even knows how many words you try to write a night.
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