Deep in the process

 It all started seven years ago during my summer vacation from teaching. I was away from delivering babies for a few years and was missing the intensely beautiful experiences I had weekly. In a slight panic, hoping I wouldn't forget all of the wonderful, life affirming births and stories, I began writing down as much as I could remember. The only way I knew to start was to begin with my own life story and show where midwifery fit in. 

This sent me on a journey. A journey that has been the last eight years of my life, on and off. Every summer, while my kids were playing in the pool or mixing potions on the back patio, I'd sit down in front of my laptop and type as many of the details as I could remember. Often, I had my birth book and journal next to me, double checking the details and jogging my memory. 

This pace changed when I moved from Toquerville to Cedar City. I began to write in earnest after a house party (remember those?) with friends. We were sitting around my living room talking and one of my birth stories came to mind. As I told it, one of my writer friends said, "Lori, you've got to write these down." "They are so intriguing." 

A few days later, I opened my laptop and changed my password to "Novel." I figured this way, every time I sat down to work on my computer, I'd be reminded to write. Surprisingly, it worked! I've been writing every day since 2020. when the pandemic hit in mid March 2020 I began, in earnest, to take my idea of writing these birth stories seriously.With no school children to teach and more time on my hands then ever before, I committed to writing and revising what I had already written. 

Then, a few months later the universe graced me with an editor, heaven sent and perfect. She was interested in my project, being a mother herself interested in home birth at one time, raised Mormon and living in Utah. She not only has all of this in common with me, but only lives a few blocks away, making our meetings very convenient. 

Now, nearly a year later and seven years before that, I am knee deep in writing a memoir, hoping to publish at some point.  I eat, sleep and drink my story. Wherever I am in my writing, I will dream about the experience or wake up with just the right words I need to put on the page. 

I have never known how hard writing is! It's hours of your butt in a seat (thanks to Teresa Jordan for giving me her comfy writing chair)and moments of trying to remember that elusive word you know is just perfect. It's changing sentence structure, watching out for repetition, and most challenging, conveying the story as you remember it with beautiful language. My respect for authors is immense. 

I hope you'll follow my journey. Through moments of grace and fumbling, won't you join me?