If I knew then what I know now...

Eighth grade English...the teacher told us we would be doing book reports for the next half of the school year...back then I hated reading...I hated school...so the thought of having to read and then do a book report did not set well with me...so I decided I would make all of my book reports up...she gave us a template to go by...Title, Author, Plot, etc. etc...she really made it too easy for me to cheat...Anyway, I started making up these books and plots...I really had the details (that was probably my first mistake...before this I barely did my homework, now all of sudden I was turning in these book reports that were long and detailed...ahhh, to be young and stupid again...) Anyway, I kept turning in these made up book reports and getting A's on them when they came back to me...then at the end of the school year, my teacher pulled me aside and she handed me this stack of papers...it was all of the book reports that I had done...she had kept them...she told me that she knew I had probably thrown out the ones that she had graded and given back (she was right), but she didn't want me to throw these away until I read them...she said really read them...She said she knew they weren't real books...but that was the most excited she had ever seen me when it came to homework...and she told me that I should take these outlines and do something with them...so I took them home and I read them and I liked what I read...matter-of-fact, I was pretty proud of myself for coming up with such great characters and plots...I was so excited...I couldn't wait to tell my boyfriend...he of course thought it was dumb...we were out of school, why would I want to do homework of any kind...and being 13 years old, I laughed off wanting to be a writer, told him I was just fooling and I tossed each and everyone of those book reports in the trash...Yes, to be young and stupid...I'm 40 years old now and I find that I keep every idea that has been scratched on an old napkin, scrap piece of paper and I don't chance losing another Plot, main character, etc...I keep a tape recorder with me at all times...I've gotten some very strange looks in the women's restroom when I come out of the stall talking into a tape recorder...but you know what...I'm not fooling anymore...I'm not 13 years old...I have the support of my husband...and even though he might not enjoy a lot of what I write because he's too old to understand why a teddy bear is helping a little girl potty train, he supports me...When I wake him up in the middle of the night because I've knocked something off my night stand trying to find my little book light and notebook so I can write down the idea I just dreamed about...he may be cranky for awhile, but as soon as I settle back down...he puts his arm around me and says, "That better be the million dollar novel for waking me up" then he kisses me on the cheek and falls back to sleep...I know he supports me...If only he had been my boyfriend when I was 13 years old...If I knew then what I know now...Hugs...