Identity

Five Minute Fridays, with www.thegypsymama.com. Her given topic this week, Identity. Write for five minutes, winging it with the timer ticking, watching the words form to see where they fly.

Identity

Who am I? Without the houseful of kids and husband, who am I? Just me, me alone, who am I? Or, is that even possible. I have been a wife longer than not. I have been a mom longer than not. I have been a homemaker, a home teacher, a cook and maid and gardener and laundry folder and grocery shopper and reader and walker and dog feeder and ...for so long that, who knows, what would I be without all that?

 Many women my age are on their own, kids grown and flown. I still have three teens at home. Some women my age are raising their grandchildren. My four are being well cared for by their parents. Some women my age live alone.

 I am grateful to have a husband and these three guys to cook for and clean up after and keep busy with. My identity? I don't mind being a mom and wife. It is a good thing. I hope it lasts.

Time is up.

Cheating. A second attempt.

Who I am is too closely intertwined with what I do. Is it possible to separate them? Perhaps identity needs to be defined. Am I defined by my job (wife, mother, homemaker, home teacher), my character (serious, practical, casual, flexible...), my purpose (creative), or by my career goals (writer). No, there has to be more than that - those are all temporary. Many of those could change in a moment's time. An accident could take all the people I care for. My goals could be unfulfilled. My creativity ignored, useless. My character tested by life's chaos. Then, what would I be, who would I be? Are those just labels - permanent, or is it really me? It is a challenging question. And time is up again, already.