Drive

Recently, one of my friends told me she admires me for my drive. While I took this as the compliment it was, I feel undeserving in the sense that I don’t see myself as going above and beyond, or necessarily doing more than anyone else. I simply do what has to get done.

As a work-from-home mother of three children, one of them on the Autism spectrum, as well as a new inductee into the Sandwich Generation, I’ve got a lot on my plate: helping the teen figure out what classes to take next year in high school; steering a pre-adolescent through the daily drama of school and fair-weather friendships; dealing with the constant headaches of IEP meetings and the home-school vs integrate debate; making sure my mother, who now lives with us, gets what she needs in order to maintain some sense of independence and dignity; etc. The list goes on, and nothing ever really gets checked off.

I am just as busy in my professional life, too. As a self-published author I am currently working on four novels, three of which are on tap for a 2013 publication date. I often hear questions like “How do you do it?” and “Don’t you ever get confused?” Well, I do it because I have to, both for the creative release and for financial gain. As far as getting confused . . . I guess I can’t be any more confused than I already am! All joking aside, working on multiple projects at once keeps my writing fresh and interesting. At least to me. 

But there’s also another reason for this so-called drive of mine, and it’s because I live and labor under the eternally optimistic, and maybe a little bit narcissistic, belief that I’m destined for something great. What that “something” is, I do not know. Maybe I’ll be one of those self-published authors who gets discovered and signs a six-figure deal with a major publishing house. Perhaps my husband and I will start that much-needed school for special needs kids we keep talking about. Or quite possibly the greatest achievement of my life will simply be helping my children live up to their potential and reach their own dreams.

What I know is this: Whatever that something great is, it won’t just come to me. Or to you, either. We have to go out there and get it ourselves.

~Melissa Luznicky Garrett
An author of adult and young adult novels. She lives in upstate New York with her husband, three children, and numerous animals. Look for THE PROPHECY, the much-anticipated conclusion to THE SPIRIT KEEPER, coming May 2013. In the meantime, connect with Melissa on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MLGarrettwrites