What to Do, What to Do

Can you write? Can you edit? Can you multitask? Do you have samples?

Ah, so goes the foray into the job market.

About 10 years ago, a had more samples than you could shake a stick at. Style guides, user manuals, help files, ads. You name it, I had it.

Then my daughter arrived. And boxes of samples were cleared out for rocking horses, and stuffed animals, and GIANT stuffed animals. "I'll never need them again. Or they'll be too outdated by the time I DO need them." I thought. Today, I'm not so sure.

Faced with the prospect of some free time (unless I decide to take up dusting, which I've assured my husband is highly unlikely, despite our family's dust allergies), I've been searching the Web for some freelance writing and editing work. Surely there is something out there for me.

And there is. Loads and loads of wonderful jobs. With just one catch: please include samples.

Does my daughter's memory book count? The eulogy for my father? The ramblings from Belgium?

Perhaps, if I'm witty enough, my blog can count toward my samples. But do I dare revisit those Belgian entries, made during the middle of the night in my English-speaking loneliness? Do I correct the typos, fix my subject-verb agreement?

Or do I start anew?

Yes, anew is good. A clean slate from which I launch my new endeavor. It's a little sad, really. Knowing I have extra free time means that my kids are growing up ... needing me a little less. But having the chance to grow myself -- returning to something I love -- will help me be a better mom and a better person.

And samples don't get any better than that.