The best career I could wish for

I've been lucky enough to be a stay at home mom since my son was born in May.  I shall soon have to begin job hunting, which will suck.  I never finished college and so I have no degree.  I've made efforts to educate myself on my own and have read a lot of classic literature in an effort to give myself a cultural base. 

Educating yourself doesn't matter in the job market, though.  If you don't have the paper saying you know what you know then it doesn't count.  It seems it most likely be back to retail for me.  I would rather do almost anything else in the world, but I have 13 years of retailing under my belt.  It is what I know. 

But if my day dreams could come true I'd stay home with my son, watching all of his firsts.  I'd be the first to see his first tooth poking through those tiny swollen gums.  I'd see him take his first steps unsupported.  I'd hear his first word spoken with meaning.  And I'd write.

I've published a book before but it was very expensive.  I couldn't afford editing services and the marketing package I bought turned out to be moot.  Unless you've published before it seems no one is willing to read what you've got and help you move forward without loads of dough. 

I read a lot of Terry Pratchett novels, trying very hard to learn from him.  He has a story for every character, even the minor people who don't matter to the actual story.  Every character to grace the pages of his books has a life story that can be read in the span of a paragraph but imagined from the point of birth to "now". 

In my imagination, I've learned to write similar feats and have found a way to live off of my imagination.  My husband wouldn't have to work quite so hard to support us.  My child would grow up well read and always interested in learning how things work. 

In my dreams, I am a successful author.  Perhaps movies are not made based on adaptations of my books but my writing entertains well enough to pay the bills.  But in truth, no matter what I do otherwise, the best job I will ever have will sound very Hallmark cliche.  The best job I have ever had, the most important I will ever do, is to be a mother.  Watching my child grow, seeing those firsts and encouraging my son to reach for more.