Motherhood and Writing Don't Always Mix

It is not easy being the mother of three and a writer. It's like being in a three ring circus. I feel like a performer riding a unicycle in high heals, juggling knives, cycling across a tight rope, while flaming arrows are being shot at me, all with no safety net underneath and everyone is watching and waiting for me to slip and fail.

My first love was words, my passion reading. An only child, books were my companions, my teachers, my best friends. I devoured every book I could get my hands on. I decided at a very young age that I was going to be a writer. I wanted to make people think, to give them the joy only a good book can do. I started writing in elementary school and continued throughout high school and college. When I had kids, I quit writing for a long time. The past couple years I found myself writing again and actually trying to do something with the words I put together.

However time is not always on my side. As a mother of three kids ranging in age from 15 months to 15 years and being the CEO of the household and the family's personal accountant, housekeeper, shopper, chef, chauffer, secretary, and so much more... I am the master of multitasking, scheduling and efficient time management. I continuously juggle all the things I have to do and roles I need to play, but sometimes I drop the ball and everything gets thrown out of whack. Life with kids can be unpredictable; they love to throw wrenches into the spokes of my unicycle. Someone always gets sick, gets injured or just has an off day and won't cooperate. Plus having an infant that follows no rules or regular schedule no matter what I do, makes writing a luxury there is not always time for.

When things happen that aren't scheduled it can throw everything off balance and the one thing that seems to be optional (at least to everyone else) is the time I need to write. So my family's needs are met but my writing time gets postponed. I guess they think that my writing is a hobby. They don't realize that it is really a passion, it is something that I am driven to do. Plus if I could actually concentrate long enough to hone my craft and become a successful writer it is possible that I could get paid for my writing.