what's the best that could happen?

it's MILF—mom i’d love to friend!

Welcome to MILF— mom i’d love to friend! New here? Subscribe now to get on the list.

Hi! I know it’s been a minute, but hear me out—when you’ve been dreaming of something, you just have to go for it.

all images sourced from pinterest

She held a sheet of paper with little drawings of me. “You can be anything you want to be,” my child told me. “Even an astronaut.” It’s as if she knows I’ll never want a traditional job again. She knows I love slow mornings and putting my feet in the grass whenever I please. She knows I love to read, write, and paint before the sun sets. She knows because we do it together.

me as an astronaut, birthday planner, just myself, a soccer player, and a tennis player—according to her

Back in college, I took a children’s literature course that required me to study an abundance of Newbery Medal and Caldecott Medal picture books. And I’ll tell you—I was obsessed. As someone who was never read to at home as a child, I craved the stories little Rojeen missed out on. (sobs uncontrollably) Throughout my time teaching elementary school, my collection of picture books grew and grew. The best part of teaching was reading aloud to my students. Some would eagerly shout, “I can’t see!” as I slowly swept the book across the room, ensuring every kid could take in the illustrations. They loved it too.

The day I packed up my things to leave the classroom for the last time, a colleague asked, “What do you plan on doing next?” I turned to her and smiled. “I’m going to write a picture book.” I’ve immersed myself in the craft of writing for children, studying a variety of picture books and writing manuscripts of my own. And for the first time, I submitted a manuscript to a picture book contest. Will something come of it? I don’t know. But what I do know is that I submitted my first manuscript. And I think that’s pretty fucking cool.

If there’s something you have been dreaming of doing, you just have to go for it. I truly hope you do.

I’ll be in your inbox weekly-ish again. Thank you for sticking around while I did my thing! Now go do yours!!

xx rojeen