Writing isn't just my calling; it is a family tradition. My Grandma was a poet. She made many things into poems, such as recovering from surgery, grieving, playing with joyous grandchildren, and teaching piano. I've republished her book of scripture songs, her family history book, her book of sermons, and her poetry books.
She wrote because the words came. If she didn't write them down, they just bombarded her mind. Anna Daisy Siemens published many books with my Grandpa editing each poem.
My mother says she began writing when I challenged her to a writing duel. We each had a blog and wrote on similar topics for over a year. It was interesting to see how different her take was from mine.
She went on to write and write and write. She wrote family history on her blog. She wrote weekly blogs until her death. She gave up the daily snippets in 2021 after a fall. She painted the cover of her Fruit of the Spirit book, and I published all her books for her. I'm still working on them.
Grandma and Mom wrote a Bible study together. I've been tasked with editing and publishing it. My favorite book Mom wrote was Sing Me to Heaven. Emily Ann Combs worked diligently to care for my father after his Lewie Body Dementia diagnosis. When we had to place him in a care facility, Mom found that he fell asleep best to her singing hymns. She would turn on the tape after she prayed with him. He died in early 2018.
Mom and Grandma encouraged all their children to write. My brother Paul has written two books; one of my nephews is writing as his father, Dan, did. And my brother Tim is working on writing; he just needs to slow down enough to get more into it.
The next generation is getting into those tough seasons where it's hard to write. I found out my daughter wrote several stories but trashed them because she didn't like how they ended. My son occasionally asks questions about his worldbuilding, and my other daughter is chasing my second grandson around.
The younger generation is complaining about school papers but learning to write and read more and more.
Sometimes, writing is a family thing. And that makes me happy.