"Writer, Etc."

I was just going through my "blog roll" - the list of other blogs that I attempt to follow on a semi-regular basis - and followed a link to another writer's blog. She lists herself as a "writer, etc." which I found intriguing.

As if nothing else in her life truly matters to her sense of self, her identity, her idiom... except for her writing. The rest is all just "etc."

I found myself envious. And then I found myself confused by my envy.

Do I consider myself a writer? Yes. Yes, I do. After wanting to be a writer since second grade, I finally feel like I can call myself a Writer.

Am I proud to call myself a Writer? Instead of, say, a Doctor or a Lawyer or a Teacher? Well, I would have to say I like my chosen career. I'd like to be more successful at it, but success takes time and work. I'm working on it.

Do I consider myself to be ONLY a writer? Well, no.

I feel like my sense of self encompasses more than just the time I sit at the computer creating and editing. All the "etc." is a big part of who I am, and who I want to be.

I'm a mommy who bakes cupcakes for the last day of school and drives my son all over creation for his soccer games and follows my other son's band around Cape Cod. I'm a supportive wife who listens to her husband's work sagas on a daily basis. I'm a sister, a daughter, a friend... a landscaper, a window washer, a dog walker, a homework hotline, a recycling fiend, a taxi driver, a Girl Scout leader, an emergency daycare provider for my neighbors.... I'm also a magazine editor who has to gather stories, coax and nurture other writers, and make it all work together on the page... there are lots of things that define who I am in addition to my creative writing.

So should I be jealous of another writer who has such a narrow world view? Or just envious that she presents herself to the world in such a laser-focused manner?

I'll have to think about that.

Meanwhile, I have cupcakes to bake.