I was just in Washington DC for meetings and had a couple of unforgettable experiences that deeply nourished me as a woman of faith, as a writer and as a leader — experiences which will be the subject of my next two blogs.
My younger daughter’s pre-school teacher told me at one afternoon pickup, early in the school year, that she had asked my daughter if I worked. My then-four-year-old promptly had answered:
“Oh, no. My mom doesn’t work. She’s Mommy. She just writes plays.”
I laughed. I liked that my girl saw my being her mommy as my main ‘job’ — because it absolutely is, first and foremost. And I’m grateful to my husband that I don’t need to work for financial reasons.
But it was also interesting that my daughter didn’t see my creative writing or speaking work as work, like Daddy’s ‘work’. And while that bothered me at first, I eventually decided I liked her response.
Because my writing is not work, or a burden, or a requirement. It is a passion I am blessed to choose with joy. And my girls need to see that such joy in their ‘work’ is possible.
Even when the writing/creative work doesn’t always bring joy, it is still my thing. And every woman needs to have something that is ‘her thing.’
My daughters have seen some of my plays (not the most ‘grown-up’ ones, they know to say), and they have even appeared in a couple of them. They’ve seen me speak about my work in public. They know all of it as being something I love to do and must do. But they now see that it takes time and effort, just like any other ‘work’ would.
Sometimes I tell them about my stories; sometimes I tell them that they’ll find out when they’re older. Just like I ask them about what excites them, they do the same to me.
Lisa Kirazian 