The line from the Matrix comes to mind: “No one can be told what the matrix is; you have to see it for yourself.” I was originally going to write that the same could be said for having a baby. Until you become a parent, cannot imagine how busy a little being that just sleeps, eats, poops, and occasionally smiles will keep you. However, it strikes me that everything is that way. I can write all day about the terror of my fingers slipping off the rock when I’m ten feet past the last clip or about that incredible rush of typing the last sentence of a novel at 4am, but no matter how well I write, I’m always serving as the filter, the page is always your lens. You can always step away from the story and back into your own experiences.
I think this is a great thing–without this quality all our experiences would be the same, and all our stories would be the same. But as it is, my story of parenting will be different from yours, and your story of being above that last clip will be different than mine. And that, in a nutshell, is why all of us tell our stories whether in conversation or in novels.
Even though I’ve been busy with so much, I’m knocking the dust off this blog. I’m going to start promoting Daronwy; I’ll be doing some readings which will be posted soon. The site has been re-designed, (kind of obvious, if you have ever seen this site previously) and I’m getting a start on a big year a few months in. Better late than never.