Believe - 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writing

I hear her soft steps as she quietly opens the door. “Mama.” I turn and see her making her way to me. I’m sitting with my back to the door, computer open, and papers all around me. It’s our morning routine when we’re home. A time I crave.

After early morning wake-ups, nursing the baby, breakfast, getting dressed, and playtime it’s time for the baby’s morning nap. As soon as I mention the word sleep, my daughter says, “DVD. Thomas. Couch.” It’s her routine. I imagine she’s craving this time too. Isaac, the baby, sleeps. Charlotte watches Thomas the Train. And I sneak off into the office.

I pour myself coffee with the perfect amount of honey and half and half. I sit at my desk and gaze outside for a few minutes. I hold my coffee as I take deep breaths. I perch the monitor next to me and make sure the baby is sleeping. I hear snippets of Thomas and his friends.

Now it’s my time to write.

Some mornings I’ll write by hand, feeling the pen glide across the page. Not worrying about grammar or sentence structure. Writing and letting the words come. Believing in the power of sitting down and doing the work. Other mornings I’ll open the computer and start typing or revising an essay. Reading each sentence carefully. Adjusting a word here and there. Believing in the power of sitting down and doing the work.

“Mama.”

Charlotte enters the room and sees me working. She stands next to me while I work at the computer. “O, P, O, P.” Her favorite letters. She wants to type them on the computer. Her fingers touching the keys and bringing the letters to the screen. I always let her. I scroll down from where I’m writing and give her a blank page to type her letters. I love seeing her enthusiasm and joy. She’s creating, too. She’s beginning to see the power in words.

Around us my loose pages and notes lay scattered. So many words. So many thoughts and essay starters. Sometimes just a word or a phrase. Sometimes a memory.

Charlotte sits in my lap and types letters one by one. She smiles and opens her mouth wide in exclamation as she hits the keys. It’s as if she’s surprised each time a letter comes on the screen. It’s as if each letter is a spark of magic.

But isn’t that what we do when we put letters together and form words and sentences. Creating magic on the page. Believing in the power of small letters coming together to breathe life into this world. Believing that words do mean something. Believing that words make a difference.

I want my children to know the power in creating; in whatever form that may be.

More importantly, I want them to know that what they do and say can change the world.

I want them to believe in the magic of words. In words that speak truth. In words that dwell deep within them waiting to see the light of day.

“O, P, O, P!” Mama!

“Yes, I see your letters, dear girl. Keep bringing them to life.”

**All month I'll be participating in 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes. Each day I'll take some time (sometimes 5 minutes and sometimes a little more) to sit down and write. It's about the discipline of writing each day. It's about listening to the words from within. It's about letting creativity work in me. I'll share my writing at some point during the day on my blog. Thanks for reading.