What brought you to writing? Has it been a life-long dream to see your stories in print? Is it a fresh career change? A creative path you’ve been encouraged to follow?
Since a young age, I’ve had the desire to create. From stories to songs, poems to plays, writing was my escape; my ‘happy place’. 🙂
As an adult, my escape became a little distant. Life got in the way – I’m sure we can all relate. My love for writing remained, but ideas lacked, and creating was rarely executed. I didn’t realise how much this affected me, until after the birth of my first child.
Parenthood is certainly an eye-opener, and in more ways than one! You can tell yourself you’re prepared, and in some respect, this is possible, but the perceived emotional and physical readiness falls about fifty football fields short of the reality that tiny bundle of joy brings.
I’m not going to lie, I struggled. Whether it was the delayed recovery from childbirth, the additional physical needs my son required, or simply the loss of sleep I once thought I could survive without, things quickly mounted, and I wasn’t coping.
After several visits to a counsellor, I began finding myself again, and enjoying my little one, rather than living in fear. At night, I would sit in a rocking chair in his room, telling him stories and singing songs, until he fell asleep. It brought peace to us both.
One night, I remember becoming overwhelmed with emotion. The bond we shared and the effect of my words, voice and embrace, brought immeasurable comfort. This was now my happy place.
That night, I started writing again. The piece was titled, One of a Kind. It reflected my thoughts on difference and uniqueness, and that if we accept ourselves and all our quirky traits, we can find true contentment. I wrote this piece for me, but more importantly, I wrote it for my son.
And I haven’t looked back.
Renee x
#JustWriteForKidsOZ
6 thoughts to “A Happy Place”
Renee, your story touched my heart. Thanks for sharing it. Becoming a mother set me on a path to writing for children. I’d known from an early age that I wanted to be a writer but like you I had a period where I was taken up with the concerns of everyday life. The writing dream lay dormant for some years while I found my place in the workaday world and met and married the man in my life. We lost our first child so the birth of our son had a huge impact on me. I was overwhelmed by the magnitude of what it meant to be responsible for this small life and so grateful for the privilege of having him. And I wrote…poetry at first, and my attempt at literary short fiction…often at the kitchen table, while breastfeeding him. I shared my favourite poetry with him from the time he was a few months old, told him stories and we read picture books together… and that’s when I realised what it was that I wanted to write.
Thank you, Teena. I am so grateful for you sharing your story. The heartache never leaves, but having an outlet, a sense of purpose, brings comfort and sense of worth. And what a calling motherhood AND writing is! Two things I appreciate every day.
Renee I so enjoyed reading this. My grandson will be a year old on Monday and my lovely daughter and her partner have had a tough year but they wouldn’t change it. For my daughter, Amy, it was especially hard as she lost her dad to cancer in 2013. Obviously this was so difficult for me too and now I’ve begun to write again – reading and writing have always been my favourite things to do but, as you say, life gets in the way. I’m delighted to have had some small successes with my writing and equally as delighted to link with like minded people of all ages. Thank you for your post.
Thank you for sharing your story, Pat. And thank you for such a lovely comment. Here’s to the wonder of creating!
After I gave birth to my twin sons in 2002 I began writing poetry. I had a hard time adjusting to my twins (my 3 yr old eldest son wasn’t cooperative either). Poetry helped a little bit.
It certainly helps to have an escape, doesn’t it? Having three little ones, you would need this! Thank you for sharing your experience. 🙂