I have sat dormant far too long. While part-time in college during my late forties my mother died, children graduated high school and college, got married, moved in, moved out, and the basement flooded. Dealing with life events was a struggle, but having the commitment to get my writing assignments done on time gave me no choice and I found out what I was made of.  When I graduated, that commitment was gone. 

While in college I learned a lot about me. I am a caretaker only wrote about family and children until one nonfiction professor suggested I list ten things I would like to do and research them. I have written since college, but have rarely submitted even though a fiction professor taught repeatly to "submit, submit, submit." When I did submit I was published in a national magazine and local newspaper. I still lack self-confidence that anyone wants to read what I write. An author at a small writer's retreat years ago told me "don't worry about it, just write the story and then find a home for it" after I told her I wanted to write about my mother's last 25 days of life, which I kept a verbal account of on a small digital audio voice recorder. 

I have been writing chapters for a small book about being the spouse of a small business owner for the last six years. Working with my husband helping him operate his business over 26 years has been quite an interesting journey. Another author told me not to make it a memoir after reading the first page. It's hard not to because it's my life. When I read the first draft after letting it "bake" for a while, it was all about one employee's behavior. I couldn't believe how much he effected the business and us as a couple. Once he was gone from the equation I was able to revise and write about the business itself. 

I have revised over and over again and included additional chapters when different business events happen. I explained how my husband's four month recouperation from a major operation effected both the business and me. There's a chapter about being audited without the support of a good accountant. After two decades we are closing in on retirement age. Another chapter to write.

My life is changing with less responsibilities and an empty nest. That same fiction professor said "treat your writing like it was a job." I have not done that since graduation. Instead of reading about writing, I need to read books by authors I want to write like. My kids gave me a Benjamin Franklin saying I keep on my desk..."Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." They are so very supportive which drives me to succeed. When I read and write I feel alive. It's time to focus on me as I did in college.