Zadie Smith makes me smile.

Oh. My. The divine Ms. Z takes issue with a recent article in The Atlantic by Lauren Sandler, who blithely states that the magical secret to being a writer and a mother is to only have one child.  Any more, and you risk your self, your writer spirit, your very SOUL. Obviously.

Thank goodness for Zadie Smith, and all the other amazing writers who took the time to respond to this dribble.

Look, I get it. I totally do. More than ever now, with a kiddo in diapers and a very, very moody seven year old going through some sort of prepubescence midlife crisis or something. How long can I tune out the crying? How long am I supposed to let my elder one play video games without feeling like a totally shitty unresponsive parent?

How the fuck do I find time to write, to really write, what I want or just to get words out on the page?

I love my family, and I'm so happy I have two beautiful boys to raise and share my (our) life with. You know how you do it?

You just figure that shit out.

Having more than one child does make you world-weary, tired, stretched to your bones on occasion, ripping your hair out sometimes.  Having more than one child DOES NOT make you less of a writer, less of your self, does not lessen your passion.

If you care, you make it work. You use your support system of friends and your spouse and your extended family and your mailman or whoever is in your village. You make it work.

Thank you, Zadie. <3