Why I am here

Julie, I think that you (and every other committed monkey member) are here because your artisitic soul is guiding you to keep it nourished no matter what else life asks of us. People here are parents, students, employees, caregivers, successes, survivors, and on and on. Through it all, the one constant is that they remain writers.

I understand your concerns, intimidation, all of it. The trick is to notice those voices, "Oh, hey guys," but not give in to them, "I've got some beer in the fridge. Go help yourselves while I hang out in the banana tree and write for a bit."

Feeding your writer self is feeding your kids in its own way, you know? It's staying in touch with yourself, finding yourself over and over again. When parents lose themselves completely to parenting and deprive themselves of their personal joys and satisfactions I think they inadvertently wind up hurting their kids.

It's been wonderful having you here. If you're thinking of leaving, I'm not too proud to beg you to stay.

Hugs,

Tracey