For everyone who is doing what they *should* do—instead of what they dream of doing… I skimmed through this post (a few days late, and already obsessing about what I have to do today before I can let myself get back to writing). Then I stopped, and read it again. And again. Because Nancy Christie is like me. Like lots of people (and why does that mean women in particular?), I left writing and journalism for practical, kids/education/bills reasons. And I wasn’t unhappy because I was lucky enough to find a series of challenging, exciting jobs. Only, they weren’t writing.

I told myself—and anyone who would listen as I described it here—that someday I’d chuck it all, move to an island, open a coffeeshop (a bad coffeeshop so there wouldn’t be too many customers to bother me), and write trashy novels. But nobody on the planet could have been more shocked than me when it actually happened. (Okay, not the coffeeshop part—for which we can all be thankful…)

But as I read this wonderful post on A Woman’s Wisdom, I couldn’t help wondering if there was some way I could have done it sooner. Did I really need to work those 80-hour weeks, while still being the perfect mom going to soccer games and chairing the PTA carnival? Seriously? When I talk to my kids about their memories, it isn’t those things they mention. It’s my family humor column in the local paper, the stories I made up for them, the letters I sent when they were at camp or college.

I’m sorry for this long comment. Obviously, this excellent post touched a nerve. So that Christmas tree can just sit there one more day. I have characters to torture.