If you read my bio, it states I’m a wife, mom of 5, teacher, artist, author, and photographer’s assistant. Of all the titles I hold, there is one that intermingles and influences all my other titles. That title is Mom. This became evident last week.

Mom as Teacher

As I stood teaching a Spanish 1 class of high school students, I found a table in the back where two students sat chatting. I did my typical walk around to get their attention, tap on their desk, call on them, etc. Nothing worked. They continued to chat. I caught two phrases: Sword Art Online, and SAO. So, in a lull in teaching, I meandered back to the two students and looked them in the eye.
“Bueno, Kirito, está bien, pero es para la clase de Japonesa no la clase de Español.”
The two students looked at me in bewilderment. I repeated the sentence. One of the student’s eyes popped open wide. “Did she just say, Kirito? Does she know Sword Art Online?”
I nodded. “That’s thanks to having five kids.”
Again the student’s eyes grew wide. “I thought you only had David.”
“Nope, he’s my youngest.”

A mom and teacher victory! I had spent time with my kids enough to know their culture and was able to gain respect from my students instead of belittling them into paying attention.

Mom as Mom

Friday was one of those days that I had just had it by the time I came home from work. I hadn’t had an opportunity to just relax. My prep period was filled with an assembly, my lunch with an Associated Student Body meeting. So, I sat and scrolled through Facebook. As I did, I came upon a link to a blog post that caught my eye, 9 Truths ‘Moms of Boys Only’ Need to Know. What a delightful read. In fact, it inspired this blog post. I laughed at number 4. You see, I do have two daughters. The youngest is twenty and living at home. That day she had a rough day and my husband had just come into our room shaking his head at the girl emotions. Then as I finished reading the post, with tears in my eyes, I look up as I hear a male voice call out, “Hello, people upstairs.”I laughed. Sure enough. I will always love my boys. I shared that section with my nineteen year old who had just bounded up the stairs after work.

Mom as Author

This Mom thing has wrecked havoc with my writing! No, honestly. I thought for sure Duskya was the main character of Dragon’s Future, but to my surprise, as I sat down to write it, Ruskya took over. I know it has to do with being a mom to mostly boys. I understand them and as stated above, I love them.

Besides making my main characters boys for the most part, being a mom has shaped the way I write. I share tidbits of what it’s like to be a mom. There’s the joyous laughter around a dinner table, the arguing and bickering that goes on between siblings, the little brother annoying the bigger sister, and other mundane life happenings that have made their way into my stories. These all came from real life in my family.

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My mom hat comes on when I’m drawing because what I choose to draw is kid related. As a photographer’s assistant, I’m able to chat with the women who come in and put them at ease. (It’s surprising how many people don’t feel comfortable in front of the camera.) I will always be a mom at heart. It will be fun to see how many more times the different areas of my life will be influenced by being a mom.