Today’s my Due Date

As I sit here, I’m writing on my baby’s due date.

I can barely believe it’s here. And yet, today is really just like any other day. Babies often don’t come on their due dates. They come when they’re ready. We’ll see what happens!

As I shrug off the anxious requests for updates with yet another “No, nothing yet [I did say I’d tell you, right??],” it’s natural to want to consider what this new change is going to mean for my life.

I know that once my son is here, nothing will ever be the same again. But I am determined about one thing. It won’t mean an end to my writing. I will continue to do it, because it makes me feel happy. Most of all, it’s what brings me meaning in my life. So even if I need to slip it into little windows of time, I’m going to make sure I take that time.

I’ve spent the last few weeks of my pregnancy writing poetry and submitting to some online journals in the hope that maybe I’ll get some nice surprises during or after my maternity leave. I think there is always a way to keep doing something you love, if you want it badly enough.

I am curious about whether it really is like people say: That having a child is like discovering a room [an undiscovered capacity for love] inside yourself that you never knew was there before. If that’s true, I can hardly see how that would be a bad thing! If anything, I think connecting to a human experience like that can only enrich my writing.

And hey, I’ve even heard that people are more creative while sleepy, and who is more sleep-deprived than a new parent?

My book is still with two beta readers, and I haven’t decided whether I’ll bring in more or not yet. We’ll see!

Now I’m going to go work on a short story, because

1. It’s going to distract me from the uncertainty of not knowing when the baby will arrive.
2. The baby hasn’t yet arrived and that means I can still get a few more writing projects started before things get crazy! 🙂
3. I’m finally feeling a bit more recovered after finishing my book draft, so it’s time to start working on some bigger stuff again[besides poetry!].

Next time I post here, I might have my babe here! What a thought.