When You Wish Upon a Star...
Or, following your dreams.
I never really believed in this, because life pretty much taught me the opposite: put your head down, keep working hard, keep saving for that rainy day, because that rainy day was coming. And some of that’s natural. When you’re raising children, you don’t really have the luxury of “following your bliss.”
I’ve always been amazed and so grateful that I had a husband who was willing to do whatever it took to support his family–work all the hours God sent at jobs he didn’t enjoy that much, move someplace he didn’t really want to go if that was where the work was. He put aside his own desire to climb big mountains to do it, because he figured out that you can’t be an engineer, a family man, AND a major mountaineer. He supported me through business school when that was what I wanted to do. He willingly pared things down so I could stay home some of the time with our kids when they were little. I did my best to support him, too, and worked pretty hard myself. But it didn’t leave a lot of space in my head for anything new, and it certainly never occurred to me to write down the romantic stories that were always floating around in there.
With time, and even with loss, though, come opportunities. With no children at home and an overseas adventure to open my eyes, I started to have that space in my head, and to be more and more dissatisfied with what I was doing. Again, it was my husband who encouraged me to pursue my dream, even to the point of quitting my job to focus on it entirely. And again, he scaled back so I could do what I wanted.
And, yes, when I did what I was meant to do, what I was born to do, it all fell into place. I was happier than I’d ever been. I was so excited to wake up every day and do it some more, and I still am. I’m not cooking or cleaning very much (sorry, honey), but guess what? Husband to the rescue once more. I asked him the other night, “Is it all right with you that I’ve changed so much?” He answered, “You were doing all these things for other people for so long: being a wife, being a mother. I feel like now you’re more “you” than you’ve ever been. And I like you.”
My Christmas wish for all of us is that we can be more “us” than we’ve ever been–the very best, biggest part of us; that we can give the world the special thing we have to offer; that we can treasure the people we love and offer back the support they give to us.
And to all of you: Thank you for being my readers. Thank you for downloading, or borrowing, or buying a book; for reading and reviewing and recommending and writing to tell me you enjoyed it. Writing is amazing–taking those journeys in my head, watching a story unfold on the page, feeling my characters coming to life. Being able to share the journey, though–that is truly priceless.
What a lovely essay! And such a gift to your readers — to share yourself with us. It appears you are truly blessed and it is a joy to see it.
All wonderful wishes for the holidays to you and yours!
Mary
Thank you, Mary! Same to you. And many, many thanks for your help this year. Who knows–maybe Amazon contacted me about doing an audiobook because of you!
I’m always awestruck at people who can make marriage work, let alone find the single talent that is most a part of them. Congratulations!! Have a very Merry Christmas and keep your fans (like me) happy by writing.
I’d love to take credit, but really, I think it was just finding the right guy. Many thanks, and a very Merry Christmas to you, too.