Two Truths and a Lie

To keeping dreams alive

“Why don’t you let your kid ride the bus? Don’t you get bored sitting in the car lane?” 

It’s time for Two Truths and a Lie, a game I excel at after seven years of motherhood. Everyone has an opinion, so I smile sweetly and simply reply, “If he rides the bus, I’ll miss an hour of quality time with him each day.” I flutter my eyelashes and brush a kiss across my toddler’s brow, the picture of a perfect mother. My questioner raises their eyebrows, telling me my Carol Brady impression needs work. So I shrug my shoulders and continue, “Plus, we’d never make it to basketball practice or piano lessons if I didn’t pick him up. There are only so many hours in a day.”

My questioner lowers their eyebrows and slowly nods. There are only so many hours in a day. I grin deeply because I diffused the argument, and it’s all true. I do really want that extra hour with my son. But it’s not the real reason I hunch over in the driver’s seat of my Toyota Sienna while Paw Patrol plays on a DVD overhead.

Every weekday at 3 p.m., the rumble of Ryder’s ATV mingles with the munch of Goldfish on my younger kids’ lips. I quietly slip my laptop out of its blue carrying case and stretch my fingers across the black keys. My eyes alight and my breathing eases with the welcome reprieve from my parenting responsibilities. For fifty mostly uninterrupted minutes, I pour myself into the one dream I cling to after giving so much of myself to motherhood: writing.

I want to be a writer. Or perhaps I am a writer? When do you officially make the leap between hoping and being? Is it enough to write for the sheer joy of watching words materialize on a page? Do I have to get published? Get paid? I enjoy writing about seemingly mundane moments of motherhood that are relatable and deserve to be remembered. Sometimes, though, I imagine myself writing novels, giving life to new characters who currently exist only in my head. Stories rife with magic, intrigue, and maybe even a smidge of romance.

Could the practice of writing consistently in the car lane lead to my first fully finished novel? I do not know. But I do know there is value in creativity. Perhaps it's time to stop playing Two Truths and a Lie. Why hide behind the walls of my minivan when what I am doing could inspire someone else to pursue dreams of their own?

The next time someone asks me, “Why don’t you let your kid ride the bus? Don’t you get bored sitting in the car lane?” No matter their intentions, I will smile sweetly and confidently reply, “It’s my favorite time of the day. It’s when I write.”

Photo by carolyn christine on Unsplash

This post is part of a blog hop with Exhale—an online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood, led by the writing team behind Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to view the next post in the series "Create Anyway".