Every writer who has kids knows the challenges of writing and caring for the needs and, dare I say, whims they need addressed IMMEDIATELY, DAD!!! Yeah me too. And for all you single parent/writers out there–solidarity my brothers and sisters.
But there comes a special day when the kids reach a certain cognizance of what you do and how important it is to you and to them. That moment is when you receive a check in the mail for something you’ve written.
Yeah. I took the check out of the envelope and told the posse, “See, all that late night/early morning writing; the frenzied and furious minutes typing as fast as possible before leaving to take you to gymnastics, sleepovers, piano, school stuff, or other assorted errands; the ever present book bag and scribbling in notebooks; and me asking for your help around the house so I can have a little more time to write can result in this.” I showed them the check. Not missing a beat and almost in unison: “Well, Dad, seeing how we helped and it is important to us too, what’s our cut?”
Indeed.