This writer had a hard week.
My mug… my writing partner and buddy, cracked.
Literally.
There’s a defect in my mug and now it’s leaking coffee tears.
I rarely have the luxury of a morning where I can set aside precious writing time. I fall asleep and rise, looking forward to curling up with my mug, computer and current work-in-progress.
At least these were my dreams, until…
I noticed coffee oozing down the side wall of my favourite mug.
Devastating.
And for once, I wasn’t the klutz. I didn’t drop or spill. The mug was weeping of it’s own weakness. There was no traumatic event, no smashing torture, just too many uses and cleaning, and it cracked under the pressure.
We became friends on a Christmas shopping tour over ten years ago. I picked out my blue, hand-made, iridescent mug from a local potter because it wasn’t perfect–there was a wobble in the bottom that spoke to me. My writing isn’t perfect either. I haven’t been formally trained and yet I’ve never given up. I continue to take courses, and learn from others and my writing has grown and changed.
But change is never easy and I guess the time has finally come to embrace a new mug and accept that I’m not the writer of ten years ago. I’ve been blessed with a family; two amazing kids and a partner who shares in my nutty dreams. Together, we’ve become farmers, raising healthy chicken to feed Ontario families.
But, I’m not only a chicken farmer. I’m also a believer in helping to empower others to read and write. To be a part of a writing community. To make new friends and support other’s in their writing journey.
And I’m a veterinarian. “I accessorize with pet hair” everyday! I love getting kisses and cuddles from the pet patients in my office. My writing is inspired by the special relationship we share with our furry friends.
I’m also over forty. FORTY! It’s hard to believe it. My cupboard is full of many fabulous mugs.
What I realize, is there are many parts of my life and being a writer is one of them. If I truly want to embrace everything I have to offer, to share my unique voice with the world through my writing, I need to use all the mugs in my cupboard and share what I have learned from being a wife, a mother, a woman of 40, a farmer, a partner, a veterinarian, and an animal lover and writer.
So, what mug (voice) are you working with today?
