I went on my first road trip this weekend. Can we talk a minute about infant car seats?
They’re awful!
People, I have zero muscle control in my neck, so when you put me in a car seat, I am naturally going to slump over to the side, unless of course you pull the straps tight enough to keep my head upright, but the only reason that works is because my cheeks balance precariously on the straps.
In all, there is nothing comfortable about this so-called “pumpkin” seat.
(I like how you’ve given it a cutesy little name in an attempt to make it sound like it’s fun. So precious of you…)
Anyway, I’m in the running to claim the Baby of the Year title, so I was on my best behavior for this road trip, and not only because I want the prestige. I’m a little nervous, to be honest. I’ve heard my parents tell the story of the night the man named “dad” dropped my sister, Tia, on her head when she was a baby.
Apparently she was sleeping in her “pumpkin” seat and the handle wasn’t locked well, so when “dad” picked her up, she pitched forward and fell on her face.
So she was left defenseless against the dangerous “pumpkin” seat, without even her hands to help break her fall. (Yes, I’m putting the quotations in there on purpose, because pumpkins are round and lovely, and seem to elicit happy memories from everyone of something called “fall.” This infant car seat elicits no such happy feelings from me. Thus the quotations…)
Whenever my parents tell this horrific story, they laugh. Sure, they say it was an accident, and they make cheeky comments about Tia having been literally dropped on her head, but it still leaves me slightly wary of the “pumpkin” seat. I listen hard for the handle to latch when they set me in it, and I’m trying to be cool and go to sleep, even though I’m wildly uncomfortable, and rather terrified.
I mean, take this photo, for example.
Do you see the terror on my face?!
Do you?!
This month, I’m linking up with The Nester for this 31 Day series as I survive the newborn haze of sleepless nights, endless nursing, and squeezing in life in twenty minute increments throughout the day. If you want to receive the posts directly in your email inbox, just leave your email address in the box on the sidebar, and subscribe so you don’t miss a post!
I’ll share photos every day, some of them good, and some of them mediocre, because baby leaves me little time to worry about taking and editing the perfect photos.
I’ll also be sharing my daughter’s thoughts, as dictated to me telepathically while she nurses, because she has informed me that she is a mind ninja, and I am merely her portal to the outside world.
Last October, I participated in The Nester’s 31 Day Challenge: Pick a topic, and dive deep into that topic for 31 days. I spent quite a bit of time trying to decide what topic I could focus on for 31 days. How could I come up with a post every day for a month on one particular subject?
This became an exercise in discipline for me, as well as a personal challenge I wanted to complete. After a lot of back and forth, I decided to write about the one thing I felt I knew best:
Writing
I was so very nervous to dive into that series of posts, but there was something deep inside that wanted to prove that I did know this profession into which I’ve chosen to pour myself. A lack of confidence held me back for far too long, so it was time to embrace with confidence that which I knew.
I managed to pull off 30 posts in those 31 days, and with each post I wrote, I felt an increasing sense of confidence in who God made me to be. I remembered the dark nights as a child, pouring my heart into journal after journal. I remembered the poems and songs I scratched out on notebook paper, the stories and devotionals I penned when I had a little time to myself.
I remembered the day a professor pulled me aside in college and told me that he had submitted an essay I’d written into a local competition and it won. “Why are you a theater major?” he asked. “You should be a writing major.”
I remembered and I embraced, and those 30 posts changed the entire course of where I was headed.
I knew it was time to move on from my blog. As much as I loved that space, and the fun that I had there, it was time to expand. Those 30 days gave me the confidence to take the next steps toward launching this current site.
I wrote that series of blog posts for myself, but something happened that I did not plan.
The posts were read, and read again, then shared and read some more. Every day I received notification from Pinterest that these posts were being pinned, and a thought struck me:
Maybe I have information that would benefit others. Maybe I actually do know what I’m talking about.
For the past three months, I have work feverishly to pull those posts together and combine them in a more concise and comprehensive manner. I added to the information I originally shared, shaped up what I’d previously written, and pulled together enough material to put it together in one easy-to-read guide.
Today, 30 Days to Becoming a Writer officially hits the Amazon marketplace. Putting this together and publishing it as an e-book only added to my growth and learning as a writer. This was my first official experience with self-publication and, as expected, I made a few mistakes. I learned as I went, though, and I am now so proud of how the book has turned out.
30 Days to Becoming a Writer is a book for people like me – people who love to write, but are unsure if they have what it takes to turn their hobby into a career. This is a book meant to give confidence. If you have the words inside you, and the the desire to see them shared, then my prayer is you’ll find the tools you need in this e-book to make your dream a reality.
I’m here to be your cheerleader. You can do this.You have everything it takes to call yourself a writer and, ultimately, an author.
If you’re interested in helping me promote the book and get the word out, please feel free to share it with your social media channels. You can help by sharing the images in this post, or this one. You can also share any or all of these images on Pinterest, by posting to Facebook and Twitter, or, if you feel led, by posting to your blog.
Thank you to so many of you who have cheered me on in this journey. Without my tribe of people rallying behind me, I never would have gotten this finished.
Blessings to you all this beautiful Monday morning, and Happy Writing!
This month, I’m linking up with The Nester for this 31 Day series as I survive the newborn haze of sleepless nights, endless nursing, and squeezing in life in twenty minute increments throughout the day. If you want to receive the posts directly in your email inbox, just leave your email address in the box on the sidebar, and subscribe so you don’t miss a post!
