Crisis averted

I guess you could call it a midlife crisis.

You'll have to pardon me for avoiding the term though. To classify the long period of silence I'm ending today as such would be a conscious admission that I'm nearing the halfway point of my life.

(Nevermind the fact that I could get schmucked by a semi on the way across town tomorrow. In which case my midlife crisis should have happened when I was 19.)

I prefer to call it "An Awakening."

And my silence, my inability to write any meaningful fiction, was a much needed break that has allowed me to evaluate my priorities and establish a clear set of goals.

You see, for most of my life I felt as if I had to live up to this expectation my loved ones had for me.

I thought they expected me to be a writer.

But they didn't. They only expected me to be myself, to be happy with the self I decided to be.

It took a series of crazy events (heavy emphasis on the crazy) to make me realize I knew my fictional characters better than I knew myself. And when I finally became acquainted with the real Kathryn, I realized how miserable I was and that some serious changes needed to be made.

I'm still married to the same wonderful man (18 years and counting). I still have two gorgeous girls and a fabulously lazy dog. My dad still calls everyone "George," and my mom still eats meat with her dessert. (Bacon-topped sundaes, whodda thunk?)

But I've undergone some bigger changes that have made my life so much better.

I want to share with others the important observations I've made.

In my twice-a-week posts (Mondays and Thursdays) I hope to help others find that sense of peace I've found.

So I hope you come back soon. And maybe even bring a friend or two.