Day 15 - My dream job
I'm as excited today as I was on Day 1! Excited to take this project to a new level. Excited about my new readers. Excited about opening myself up and taking a leap. Definitely excited about writing!
My first order of business today is reversing a decision I made just days ago. At the suggestion of one of my lovely new readers, I'm doing away with my family of acronyms. My friend mentioned that the first time she saw the acronyms I've been using, they were referencing the writer's "damn husband," and so on. I certainly never want my acronyms to be mistaken as such! It also occurred to me while thinking of ways to engage an audience that anonymity isn't engaging. Real people with real stories are engaging, and so I'd like to re-introduce you to my dear husband, Ryan, my dear son, Eli, and my dear daughter, Abigail. They'll likely be present here quite often, and I believe they'll be much more engaging by name! I love them each dearly, and would never refer to them in the way the aforementioned writer did hers.
I love the suggestions that I'm getting, and I hope to keep receiving both ideas and feedback. Another thing I'd love is blog suggestions; I'm interested specifically in any blog that you find particularly engaging. A site that you return to again and again because you can't wait to read what the writer has to say today.
My goal here has changed from simply writing every day to writing something every day. The difference? A topic or focus or direction. I've discovered a plethora of websites dedicated to offering writing prompts to the creatively blocked, which I often am. One such website offers prompts for elementary school teachers to use in their classrooms, and I think it will be fun to use some of these prompts from time to time! I was skimming through a list of prompt questions on another website when my eye settled on: "What does Canada mean to you?" I laughed out loud! I'm assuming the website was Canadian. My complete answer to the question is: not much. I came across one website called the Imagination Prompt Generator. It offers a new prompt at the click of a button, and I thought the one it gave me was particularly relevant here. It said simply, "My dream job..."
When I first read this prompt I thought about it in terms of an outside-the-home career. My immediate response was "writer," followed quickly by the revision of "copy editor." I know that sounds odd because a copy-editor isn't exactly the top of the food chain in the publishing world. This is going to sound pompous, but I really enjoy editing other people's work. That's not to say that I'm constantly editing everything I read, but I do really, thoroughly enjoy the process when I'm given a raw piece of writing to polish. The polishing is fun! While I would love to find myself in a paying copy-editor gig someday, that's actually not my answer to the given question. My dream job is my current job...wife and mother. It may sound cliche, but I love this job! That's not to say it isn't hard, or that I don't get frustrated, or that I don't need breaks. It is, I do, and I do. There are facets of every job that are more enjoyable than others. I was thinking about this just days ago as I was folding my third load of laundry for the day. I was tired of folding laundry; I didn't want to do it anymore. I was downright annoyed that I was stuck doing this undesirable task. But then it occurred to me that folding laundry is just part of my job, and it's a job for which I am infinitely grateful. I realized that I have so much laundry to fold because I have a family. Would I rather have only my own laundry to fold? Not a chance! I truly love being a stay at home wife and mother. Certainly cleaning a kitchen isn't my idea of a liesure activity, but I definitely love having a kitchen to clean and a family who is blessed by my doing so. I suppose it's all a matter of perspective. I could easily look at my household responsibilties with disdain and long for the myriad other things I'd prefer to do with my time. Or I can let the laundry and cleaning and grocery shopping be reminders of the blessing of family. I can choose whether to let the chores bring me down or to use them as acts of worship and gratitude. God has given me the job that is both the hardest and most rewarding. I was struck in my Bible study this morning by the fact that the job I have is proof-positive of God's trust. That is truly amazing; God trusts me to care for Ryan, Eli, and Abby. It's not just that He expects me to do so, but that He specifically chose me for the three of them because He trusts me to care for them in a way that only I can. Wow! I am stunned by that. God has uniquely gifted me to be the best wife for Ryan and the best mother for Abby and Eli. And He, as the creator and supervisor of my position, is right here with me at every moment, guiding me and equipping me. I am folding laundry and scrubbing counters and changing poopy diapers because the God of the Universe believes that I can do this job (for this specific family) better than anyone else. What a blessing. What a vote of confidence! It sure makes all of my insecurities seem silly. So, the next time I am annoyed by the laundry or discouraged by the dirty floor or just want to look at Facebook instead of doing the dishes, I hope to be reminded of today's revelations. My job is a gift, and not even copy-editing could be better than this!
My first order of business today is reversing a decision I made just days ago. At the suggestion of one of my lovely new readers, I'm doing away with my family of acronyms. My friend mentioned that the first time she saw the acronyms I've been using, they were referencing the writer's "damn husband," and so on. I certainly never want my acronyms to be mistaken as such! It also occurred to me while thinking of ways to engage an audience that anonymity isn't engaging. Real people with real stories are engaging, and so I'd like to re-introduce you to my dear husband, Ryan, my dear son, Eli, and my dear daughter, Abigail. They'll likely be present here quite often, and I believe they'll be much more engaging by name! I love them each dearly, and would never refer to them in the way the aforementioned writer did hers.
I love the suggestions that I'm getting, and I hope to keep receiving both ideas and feedback. Another thing I'd love is blog suggestions; I'm interested specifically in any blog that you find particularly engaging. A site that you return to again and again because you can't wait to read what the writer has to say today.
My goal here has changed from simply writing every day to writing something every day. The difference? A topic or focus or direction. I've discovered a plethora of websites dedicated to offering writing prompts to the creatively blocked, which I often am. One such website offers prompts for elementary school teachers to use in their classrooms, and I think it will be fun to use some of these prompts from time to time! I was skimming through a list of prompt questions on another website when my eye settled on: "What does Canada mean to you?" I laughed out loud! I'm assuming the website was Canadian. My complete answer to the question is: not much. I came across one website called the Imagination Prompt Generator. It offers a new prompt at the click of a button, and I thought the one it gave me was particularly relevant here. It said simply, "My dream job..."
When I first read this prompt I thought about it in terms of an outside-the-home career. My immediate response was "writer," followed quickly by the revision of "copy editor." I know that sounds odd because a copy-editor isn't exactly the top of the food chain in the publishing world. This is going to sound pompous, but I really enjoy editing other people's work. That's not to say that I'm constantly editing everything I read, but I do really, thoroughly enjoy the process when I'm given a raw piece of writing to polish. The polishing is fun! While I would love to find myself in a paying copy-editor gig someday, that's actually not my answer to the given question. My dream job is my current job...wife and mother. It may sound cliche, but I love this job! That's not to say it isn't hard, or that I don't get frustrated, or that I don't need breaks. It is, I do, and I do. There are facets of every job that are more enjoyable than others. I was thinking about this just days ago as I was folding my third load of laundry for the day. I was tired of folding laundry; I didn't want to do it anymore. I was downright annoyed that I was stuck doing this undesirable task. But then it occurred to me that folding laundry is just part of my job, and it's a job for which I am infinitely grateful. I realized that I have so much laundry to fold because I have a family. Would I rather have only my own laundry to fold? Not a chance! I truly love being a stay at home wife and mother. Certainly cleaning a kitchen isn't my idea of a liesure activity, but I definitely love having a kitchen to clean and a family who is blessed by my doing so. I suppose it's all a matter of perspective. I could easily look at my household responsibilties with disdain and long for the myriad other things I'd prefer to do with my time. Or I can let the laundry and cleaning and grocery shopping be reminders of the blessing of family. I can choose whether to let the chores bring me down or to use them as acts of worship and gratitude. God has given me the job that is both the hardest and most rewarding. I was struck in my Bible study this morning by the fact that the job I have is proof-positive of God's trust. That is truly amazing; God trusts me to care for Ryan, Eli, and Abby. It's not just that He expects me to do so, but that He specifically chose me for the three of them because He trusts me to care for them in a way that only I can. Wow! I am stunned by that. God has uniquely gifted me to be the best wife for Ryan and the best mother for Abby and Eli. And He, as the creator and supervisor of my position, is right here with me at every moment, guiding me and equipping me. I am folding laundry and scrubbing counters and changing poopy diapers because the God of the Universe believes that I can do this job (for this specific family) better than anyone else. What a blessing. What a vote of confidence! It sure makes all of my insecurities seem silly. So, the next time I am annoyed by the laundry or discouraged by the dirty floor or just want to look at Facebook instead of doing the dishes, I hope to be reminded of today's revelations. My job is a gift, and not even copy-editing could be better than this!
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