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How I Simplified
My Life By Becoming an EP
I am a 29 year-old mother of 2 year-old
Veronica. She is the light of my life. My husband, Colum, and
I always believed in caring for her ourselves. We hated the thought
of day care. When she was born, Colum was finishing school at
night and adjusting to a heart arrythmia problem that he developed
as a result of two heart surgeries and a combination of serious
congenital heart defects.
I returned to work as a magazine
editor two months after Veronica was born. Colum watched her
during the day and attended class at night and on the weekends.
I commuted an hour and 10 minutes each way to Manhattan from
Long Island. When Veronica was a year old, I was layed off from
my job and Colum finished his degree. He found a job three months
later (perfect!). I began freelancing part-time. I would work
early in the morning and while Veronica napped. Life was good.
Then a few months later, Colum
began having more serious arrythmia problems. His cardiologist
scheduled him for surgery to have a pacemaker installed. Colum
was so tired from the arrythmia that he stopped working around
June. The surgery was performed at the end of July. He did so
well, and never complained about the intense pain he felt. Because
of his unusual problems, the pacemaker could only be installed
by opening his chest and laying the pacemaker lines directly
on his heart.
He smiled and joked throughout
his hospital stay and recuperation at home. Then, about a month
later, he was readmitted to the hopsital with congestive heart
failure. Doctors administered different drugs to relieve the
fluid around his heart, and sent him home. Two weeks later, just
a day before his follow-up office visit was scheduled, Colum
passed away peacefully in his sleep. I am grateful that his pain
is finally over, but I miss him terribly.
I have had to make so many changes
in my life since that time. Instead of returning to a full-time
job, I have decided to freelance full-time as a writer and editor.
Work has been slow, but I am confident that things will pick
up soon. Every time I get discouraged, I imagine working for
someone else. Publishing, as I'm sure you know, requires long
hours. I think about Veronica getting off a school bus in a few
years. Do I want her greeted by a babysitter or me? Clearly,
I want to be there.
Although I must bring her to
babysitters now (2 year-olds hate when their mommies talk on
the phone or work on the computer), I know that we will reap
the benefits of my independent, home-based work in a few years.
We will be able to have a life together. We may not have fancy
cars or a beautiful home (we're still in a 1-bedroom apartment!),
but we will have each other. And that is much more important.
Michele Marrinan offers Freelance Writing & Editorial Services, and can be reached by Email: [email protected], or by
Phone: 516-942-3990.
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