Madeline L’Engle called her thirties “the tired thirties.” With small kids at home, she wrote faithfully for those 10 years and admits to often falling asleep at her typewriter. She characterizes this period of her writing by the stream of rejection slips she received in the mail. Rejection after rejection for close to ten years. On her fortieth birthday she still hadn’t found a publisher for A Wrinkle in Time.

Stories like hers give me peace. With so many young voices finding large audiences, I sometimes struggle with the slow pace of my own growth as a writer and the inevitable divide I feel between mom and artist. Will I ever find enough time in the day to write well?

I pray for generous children, long naps, and a forgiving husband. I commit to them and I commit to the writing.