Aspiring...

Aspiring to do something is not doing that something. Good intentions are really not going to get me any where.

The problem is, I have many, many things to do. There's that letter I thought I'd write...there's that little home repair that always annoys me...there's always chores, bills, and a backlog of to-do's. Add to this, my bucket lists (yes lists in the plural) and my open-ended, achingly empty promises to my kids to do this/that. Gads.

If we were to play a word game, like maybe Family Feud, I think it would be easy enough to come up with the number one answer to the title of this entry. Aspiring......writer. (What else could it have been? butcher, draftsman, welder, accountant?) Why is it that of all career paths, "writer" fits better with "aspiring" than any other? Hmmm...

My guess is that one can obtain status as about any kind of worker readily by simply working in the field. I am a farmer if I farm. I am a gardener if I garden. One can obtain certification in an area and also be an anointed, certified teacher, doctor, or day care provider. On both counts, it would seem that I am, indeed, a writer. I write. (See me write? I am doing it right now.) I have actual degrees in my field.

Some argue that a person is not truly a writer until they are published. Well, I suppose by some definitions, I am again already there. My thesis rests, dust- and spiderweb- covered, in a university library. I have 30+ published articles from a column I wrote. My online course content has been a model for others in some venues. I blog (see, here, I'm blogging right now).

Still, if someone asks me what I am, my first responses are, in this order:
daddy
teacher
husband
...and if they ask what I do:
teach
parent
mess around on my farm

...it's far down the list that I say I am a writer or that I write. That is odd, for it has been on my list of things to do, on lists of my defining characteristics, etc. virtually all my life. It's the absolute only thing I have ever been given an award for.

The intent of these last few hundred words has simply been self-motivating. Last weekend I attended a great conference of the Kansas Writer's Association and walked away from that, pen in hand, ready to write. Again.

The last time I really dedicated any serious time to Writing was in 2004, which seems like yesterday but was, in fact over 5 years ago. I know people who were not even alive back then, like 3 of my 4 children!

My new direction, my current aspiration, is to be published in some renown literary magazine. I think I'm going to give that some time every day. Even if it's just a visit to a good, local bookstore, I'm going to get into the culture again, and we'll see what comes out of it.