Amy Painter juggles a police career, manages a household, loves a husband and cares for her five-year old, a son born early, beginning his life in a NICU. Karen Sorenson's understanding of her mother's professional choices matures only when she faces them herself. Riley Malloy gracefully accepts a pilot's nightmare - grounding - for the chance to have a baby.What do these women have in common? They are characters in novels, the product of an author's imagination. Professionals torn between two callings, a critical part of my own choices.
As my writing career has unfolded, I have benefited from others' willingness to share with me their experiences as mothers. All of them knew, for the most part, that they were helping me add depth to the people inhabiting a pretend world. They would see their own words, their thoughts, in print for others to judge. They spoke candidly anyway.
Often, the awkwardness of my questions reminded them I am a man, sometimes immune from illumination. They accepted the challenge.
I have had the opportunity to watch quality mothers close up. Three AM flu bouts, parent-teacher conferences, activities in the rain. The sacrifices are often ignored, or unperceived in the face of a mom's greater fear - that her children will face the same hardships that forged her own strong, enduring personality.
Happy Mother's Day - To my mom, my mother-in-law, my wife Pat, daughter Katy and daughter-in-law Lindsey. To my friends Donia, Danielle, Michelle, Michele and...Michelle. To sisters-in law past and present. You are more than the source of information for novels.
You are great moms.
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