From the dormancy of child raising
There is no single effort more radical in its potential for saving the world than a transformation of the way we raise our children.
-Marianne Williamson
This past month our twins, the youngest in our family, began kindergarten. Although they are gone for only 3.5 hours, and although we have had the tremendous help of our friend who has watched and cared for them during the day since they were born, it marks a momentous time in our life. For the last 9.5 years, we’ve been a family with very young kids, including a conservative estimate of 16,000 diaper changes, over a metric ton of wasted food due to fickle tastes, thousands of temper tantrums and repeated requests, et cetera. In many ways, it feels like we are coming out of that.
Having four active boys ensures there will be a plethora of adventures.
Child raising is emotionally and physically exhausting and knocks one down a few rungs of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Since any creative venture, as least for me, requires residence at the top of this pyramid, I have done far less writing than in the past.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. For me, writing falls somewhere in the esteem and self-actualization realm.
But here’s the catch, child raising has provided some really fertile soil for writing content. In the last year, I’ve felt like I’ve emerged from a winter of writing dormancy, but in that winter, I’ve had a wealth of experiences and depth of perspective. Four new personalities have sprouted in my life in a very major way, especially since they are wild and vibrant and it’s my job not only to keep them from killing themselves, but also to train them up in ways of faith, respect, integrity, and industriousness. This has required catering my parenting style in four different ways simultaneously, then reflecting on and revising it as required.
For these reasons, I do not see these last several years as lost time for writing. As I’ve gotten back into it, I haven’t been at a loss for ideas. The character development has come easier, and I’ve been able to develop stories with greater empathy.
