A BABY AND A BOOK

Twenty nine years ago I was put to bedrest during my pregnancy.  I faced several months on my back and I felt trapped, like I'd lost control of my life.  My husband gave me a yellow legal pad and pen and told me, "Mary Alice, for as long as I've known you, you have wanted to write a novel but didn't have the time. Now you have the time."

I wrote and wrote and finished the draft of my first novel.  I like to say I gave birth to a baby and a book!

Now all these years later, that baby, Zack, just had a baby of his own!  I'm finishing my twentieth novel and as I gaze at my sweet grandson, I can't help but think how sometimes life does come full circle.

My son and his newborn son

Looking back, I learned a precious lesson.  Back when I was put to bed I was miserable, thinking that I was facing a horrid obstacle.  In fact, it wasn't an obstacle at all.  The experience was an opportunity.  I learned from this that how we face hardship can change not only our outlook, but the outcome.  Each decision we make moves us toward the next, and the next, and the next. 

If I hadn't been put to bed rest, I might have lost not only my son, something I can't even think about without a shudder.  But I likely would not have finished that first novel that was sold and changed the course of my career and life.

We are writing the story of our lives day by day.  My bed rest experience and giving birth to a baby and a book was an important chapter.  Gazing at my sweet Wesley, this one truly has a happy ending! 

Meet my new grandson, Wesley!