When I grow up I want to be a writer...

It all began when her Mum realised she could read. At the tender age of four, she would lay on the very edge of her bunk bed, arms outstretched to catch the light in the hallway, reaching for any light she could find. The books would pile up on the end of her bed. At first her Mum thought she simply liked the mess, sorry, I mean, pictures. Book after book after book would reach the end of her bed and night after night after night, she would read them.

Books and reading unlocked a little world called, Imagination. And what a world it was! Toys became real beings after the sun went down. So convinced of this, she would hold onto her raggedy teddy bear each night and whisper, "I believe in you Patch - I believe in you Patch" 10 times before closing her eyes on yet another big day.

Her first book was published by age 11. It was a riveting novel called, The Picasso Painting and along with writing it, she also illustrated, edited and published it herself. One copy was produced and sent off to her legion of fans for reading.

At her first reading, it appeared that her book was an instant success. "Write more!" they cried. "Are you sure you wrote this? It's brilliant", they said.

She looked at her audience (her parents and her Nan) and thought, when I grow up I want to be a writer.

Fast forward to the present day and (drum roll please) my childhood dream has come true. I have fulfilled my dream, I am a writer. As with my first novel, my writing is self-published, self-edited, self-illustrated and self-indulged. Yes readers, I am a blogger.

When I was little I loved writing and reading and drawing and playing dress ups. I believed that as an adult I would be either a writer or a world famous fashion designer. I launched my first fashion label around the same time as The Picasso Painting. It was called City Streets and featured a range of fabulous suits in the bright green and purple colour palette and had some serious shoulder padded features. Again, my legion of fans (my family) applauded my ideas and suggested I keep on drawing (in the other room so we can have an adult conversation thank you very much).

I don't know quite when or what happened but somewhere along the line I misplaced my creative whims. Writing stories became something I used to do. Fashion dreams were dashed when my high school guidance counselor told me that they were far fetched and perhaps I should focus on something more realistic. I let go of my balloons of hope and one by one let them drift away, only to be replaced by bubbles of responsibility, financial commitments and daily life.

Becoming a mother has bought me a million joys and unlocked parts of me that I didn't know existed. How could I know that I could sing Incy Wincy Spider several times a day and not get sick of doing so. I didn't know that I could memorise the words of all of the Hedgehogs favourite books and how important this would be on long journeys in the car when the Hedgehog decided to exercise his lungs. I discovered that I have the patience of a saint when I comes to meal times, important for those moments when you have spent hours in the kitchen creating deliciously healthy baby meals only to have them flung at you from chubby fingers.

Singing, reading and cooking has somehow allowed all of those creativity balloons to drift back down and firmly into my hands. It's reminded me of the younger version of myself who liked a good story and could tell one just as well. It's reminded me that I am much more than an Executive Assistant, Wife, Sister, Friend. I am actually my own person! Who knew?

This discovery has resulted in the creation of this blog. If I want to bring more goodness to this world and learn to be more gracious, not only do I have to create these aspects of my life, I have to find a part of myself who is brave enough to share my venture with the wild and wonderful world (or world wide web as it may be).

I invite you to follow my adventure into finding the good and learning to be gracious. I would love to hear about your experiences and read about your journey to finding the real you.

A little reminder though, this blog is about goodness and graciousness. Haters and web trolls need not apply. If you don't like what I have to write, simply "unfollow" and go back to bullying another cause from the safety of your online persona. 

To the lovers of what is good in the world, welcome aboard! Please follow me on Facebook or sign up to my blog.