Writing for Everyone

I continue to amass several unfinished drafts in my email account. There is so much content accumulated over the last few months that will never see the light of cyberspace! It is rather frustrating on some days when I can’t work on my own personal writing about my children.

Currently, I am working on the 17^th feature article for the local magazine that hired me to be the Content Coordinator in October 2018. This job allows me to enjoy writing. However, the job also requires me to write about a preselected set of people. I do not exactly have a choice! It is not as bleak as I am making it sound right now. It is rewarding in its own way - I get to write mini biographies of people and almost all of those people appreciate the time and effort I put into writing about their lives.

The magazine has also given me the opportunity to write a few business profiles of the advertisers who are featured. There have been 3 instances when the publisher needed additional content and I contributed posts from this blog. The posts that became articles were about taking your child to work, first day(s) of school and most recently, Valentine’s Day. The last one garnered a lot of attention and I got a few congratulatory notes.

Although the adulation was great, I felt like I was recycling my private writing instead of writing something original and impersonal. Luckily, the boys don’t seem to mind. In fact, ASid was surprised to read about his thoughts on Valentine’s Day from 2017! In 2020, he has the same feelings as he did 3 years ago. If I have to rewrite that post today, I would only add that ASid found a mate who seems to love him and take care of him. When he was sick the other day and called me to let me know that he missed me, he also shared that he was under the kind and considerate care of his lovely girlfriend!

At the end of the day, whether I write about my children or total strangers, what matters is that the writing brings a smile to their faces and that they would cherish the words for a long time.

 

Birth, Death, and Life

Last few weeks have been thought-provoking.

I went to visit with a friend's mother who recently had a stroke and has been paralyzed on the left side of her body since then. I spent some time with my brother and his family at a hospital. I bid adieu to Hans' former principal and my mentor-friend as he moved onto a different role. I got a call from ASid who was down with fever. I took care of Hans through 2 bouts of sickness.

Through all of the above, I realized that I have developed a bit of anxiety about death! This feeling has been percolating since the young mother passed away last year on October 27, 2019. Craigley believes that I haven't seen death up close and personal and that's the reason it is so unsettling. He is probably accurate in his analysis of my most recent state of mind.

I have been worried every waking moment about falling asleep and not waking up!

Then, I had a breakthrough. Eternal Boy shared a video with me about this kid who "speaks lots of sense … just resonates so readily". I enjoy receiving notes from my friends. Pictures are alright. Videos are work! However, I took 2 minutes and 3 seconds out of my time to watch this video. Strangely, a little boy made me realize that I have become so good at worrying that I am now worried about "the buffalo that I don't have"!

I was the most fearless and welcoming of death. When that mother passed away and left behind a little girl, I was worried about the motherless child. Then, I worried about my future motherless children. That led to my worrying about death.

It all seems ridiculous now. No matter what, life goes on. It was wonderful to receive a call from my friend about her mother who had a stroke. I took the time to catch up with her mother who appreciated my visit to the rehab centre. It was special to spend some time with my brother and his family even if it was in a hospital. It was heartwarming to receive a call from ASid while he was battling a high fever. He didn't need me; he just missed me. It was humbling to take care of Hans because it reminded me that I was wasting time worrying about death when there is so much living to do.

All of it made me realize, not for the first time or the last time in the history of Birth and Death, that what matters is everything in between … Life.