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My degrees from Brigham Young University are in English, German and Secondary Education.
I loved and adored teaching (except the first few months, during which I cried almost every night to my brand-new husband, who - bless him - stayed married to me).
But eventually, I determined that my best chance of raising somewhat crazy, absolutely awesome kids - especially since I opted to have five of them - was for me to dive into the trenches with them at home and show them crazy and awesome.
The verdict is still out on the results -- but the stories never, ever end.
And for me, writing those stories (plus book reviews, articles and a book-in-progress) brings me as close to a state of "zen" as I ever get.
Zen is important, so I write.
I'm also a public speaker. This helps me stay current, make terrific connections with other adults, and bond with my teenage daughter at clothing stores ('Um . . . you probably shouldn't wear that outfit, Mom. No offense.').
Fortunately for the public, they will never, ever hear or roll their eyes in response to the endless speeches I give my kids. Which is a very good thing, because I get awfully tired of eye-rolling.