Staying Grounded

Do you remember that scene in Twister, when the tornado was tearing through a shed that held our hero and heroine, and all they had to keep them grounded was a leather strap and some rusty pipes sticking out of the ground? I sometimes relate that scene to my life.

My kids can destroy a house faster than an F-5 tornado. With no warning they turn into wailing banshees, and start throwing things around, shredding paper, and dumping drawers. It’s not pretty, and usually ends with me locking them in their rooms for time outs, and me hiding in my bathroom. I swear, they are possessed. As babies both kids would make the Grudge noise from their cribs late at night. Freaked me out....

I love the expression I get when I tell someone what it is I do. That look of “is that it?”

Is that it? I get up and spend my day cleaning up after others, wiping their butts, feeding them, teaching them, bathing them, making sure they get enough exercise, listening to them fight and scream, trying to break up the fights before they escalate into baby smacdown, listening to non-stop "mom, mom, mom, mom," and then tucking their butts into bed and trying to make sure they stay there. By the end of the day I’m on the edge of a nervous breakdown.

Then let’s add writing a novel to that to-do list.

The only time I have to write is after I put the kids to bed, and I’m usually so tired I just want to crawl into bed and pass out, but I try and resist, because for me writing is like that rusty pipe. It’s what keeps me grounded.

Writing keeps me from getting sucked into the chaos of my life.  I look forward to the hour of quiet in the dark when everyone is asleep and I can reconnect with my fantasy world, even if by the time I do get to bed the Hubz is fast asleep and doing his best Vader impression. It’s worth it. With writing holding me down, I’m able to look into the chaos, and see the beauty inside.

Don’t get me wrong, I love being a stay at home mom. I get to actually raise my kids. I am teaching them their numbers, and I taught them their ABC’s.  I’m teaching them that creativity is wonderful, and to dream big. My four year old is already starting to read and can write her name, and is so in love with books already. They are both extremely talented, love to sing and dance, love to draw and paint, and love making up fantastic stories.

I love what I do. I love that I have the opportunity to be with my kids. No we aren't rich, and I can't run out and go shoe shopping whenever I want (not that I'm big on shoes... maybe books...) 

So yes, I am a very proud stay at home mom, and a writer.

Never Surrender!

To celebrate Elana Johnson's release of her second book SURRENDER, I wanted to participate in the Never Surrender Blogfest and share a time when I didn't surrender. This book jumped to the top of my reading list! You can pick up POSSESSION and SURRENDER and start reading this fantastic series today!

Deciding to join the military was a big choice in my life. If I had not joined, I would never have met my best friends, I would never have met my Hubz, and I would never have had my two amazing children. I loved the military, and loved how it helped me grow as a woman. 

Basic training wasn't easy for me. I sprained my ankle only a few weeks before, and had a hard time making the run. I wasn't a runner anyway, and running on a sprained ankle was hell. I was also put on Latrine crew (cleaning the bathrooms... ewwwww) and the serving crew at chow time (which meant I was always last to eat and had less than 5 minutes to do so). I spent more time counting down the time until my next meal than how many weeks I had left of training, and was always so hungry! Top that off with TI's that like to get in your face and try to break you down, and a letter from home saying there was a wager on if I would make it. Odds were against me and I'll admit, I shed a couple tears. 

Anyone who knows me, knows how stubborn I can be. I come from a long line of stubborn. I used that to push on. While having two TI's yell into each ear that I was no longer daddy's little girl, I kept my mouth shut, my eyes forward, and my head high. They don't know me! I will always be my dad's little girl!

I continued to push myself on the run. Eventually my ankle healed enough that I passed the run time.

Who knew all those years hanging out in the country with my dad had prepared me for obstical courses and camping, or what the girls called hell week (I think I was the only one disappointed to be back at the dorm where there was a latrine to be cleaned.) It was so funny to walk across logs 10 feet off the ground as if I were Catwoman on Gotham rooftops while the others flailed and crawled. Ok, so I enjoyed the misery of the girls I was forced to live with (you would too if you had to clean up after them... girls can be so gross!) 

In the end I made it to graduation, and my TI still didn't know my name, which my parents thought was hilarious when they tried shaking her hand, and she asked if had always been her troop.

So even though the odds were against me, I didn't surrender!

What is one of the times you didn't surrender?

Git'er Done!

Just a little warning here, I wont be blogging as much this month. I’ve dedicated all my time to getting the rewrites done, and so far so good! To quote Larry the Cable Guy “Git'er Done!”

So I’m not commenting this month on blogs, though I do read other blogs from my Kindle Fire greader app, and I’m not spending anytime on this blog, except for what you see here. I’ve given myself a time frame to have this draft done at the end of the month. Then after the whole thing has been S&S’ed, I’m going to print it out and do the Margie Lawson EDITS system on it. It shouldn’t need much more work after July, and I will be able to get it out to Beta’s and an editor (BTW if your interested in being a Beta feel free to comment or email me!)

My biggest goal is to have my book completely done and ready for publishing by the New Year. A ton of work ahead of me, but I’m diggin in my heals, and getting to it.

Wish me luck!

Ta!

A.McBay