• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Sudden Write Turn Freelance Writing

Word magic

  • About Me
  • Work With Me
  • Workshopping
  • Portfolio
    • Blogging
    • Business Communication
    • Literary Journalism
    • Website Content
    • Workshopping
    • Memory Lane
  • My Blog
  • Contact
  • About Me
  • Work With Me
  • Workshopping
  • Portfolio
    • Blogging
    • Business Communication
    • Literary Journalism
    • Website Content
    • Workshopping
    • Memory Lane
  • My Blog
  • Contact

This is 40

March 3, 2013 //  by Terra Osterling

In the third season of the Roseanne sitcom, Roseanne’s 37th birthday wish is for time, specifically to write. Turns out that she loved to write as a young woman, but raising a family took priority and as she gets closer to age 40, she wants to make a change.

As a gift, Roseanne’s husband builds her an office in the basement and the kids give her pencils, notepads, and reference books. They then leave for the afternoon to give her one more gift – time to write.

The following scene is a montage of Roseanne “writing”: wadded paper litters the floor and Roseanne passes the time thoroughly cleaning the basement. [I had to laugh as I tend to get a lot done around the house on days when I am avoiding writing. That, and I can’t imagine writing without my laptop.]

I was 37 years old when I decided to change my life. It started with my husband saying that if I came home from work one day with a box under my arm because I had quit, that would be okay. The stress of what I could not change about my job had become a heavy load for both of us. Not until that moment did I realize that changing my life was a real possibility. I began to plan, with the goal of completely changing my life by the time I turned 40.

Guess what? I did it.

By the end of that year (2010), I had started this blog. Within six more months, I knew for sure that I wanted to write for a living. All along, I made time to write, to study, and to plan.

A year ago, I quit The Job for full time freelance writing. A year ahead of schedule.

The episode of Roseanne continues with Roseanne feeling defeated and deciding that her writer’s block comes from too many years of too much else to do to allow space in her brain for creativity. The final scene is Roseanne telling her son a bedtime story. He asks if the story comes from a book. She says no, because it is a story she made up for him.

I will turn 40 in a few days, and I can’t think of a birthday wish. At the onset of middle age, as this birthday is often labeled, all I can think of is that this is what I’ve been moving toward my whole life – this time of writing for a living. What more could I wish for?

Share

Category: How I got "here", WritingTag: Birthday wish, Change my life, Roseanne sitcom, Turning 40

Previous Post: « The Future is Today
Next Post: Adventures in Babysitting: Winter Break »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Robin

    March 3, 2013 at 8:35 PM

    I just heard this last night: With logic, A will move you to B, but with imagination, you can go ANYWHERE. Happy Middle Life and congratulation on having found your way.

    • suddenwriteturn

      March 4, 2013 at 10:00 AM

      Robin, thank you, that is a great quote…I’m using it!

  2. fladack

    March 3, 2013 at 5:23 PM

    Happy Birthday! Your move to professional creativity is motivational even for a 60 year old.

    • suddenwriteturn

      March 4, 2013 at 10:00 AM

      Thanks, Frances!

  3. Rosemary Irwin

    March 3, 2013 at 4:44 PM

    Happy birthday, a few days early. Your writing is inspiring and a real gift to us all!

    • suddenwriteturn

      March 4, 2013 at 9:59 AM

      Thank you, Rosemary. 🙂

Primary Sidebar

Stories are best told over snacks or beverages.

Let’s “Zoom” to find out what it might be like to work together. At the very least, we can swap a few good stories.
CONTACT ME

LEARN ABOUT WORKSHOPPING

Subscribe

Occasional blog posts and monthly newsletters delivered to your inbox!

My Recent Posts

Decade

February 25, 2022 By //  by Terra Osterling

Playground Revolution

October 18, 2021 By //  by Terra Osterling

“Though she be but little, she is fierce.”

October 5, 2021 By //  by Terra Osterling

Contact

585.314.8555
terra@suddenwriteturn.com

Sudden Write Turn Freelance Writing

Footer

Subscribe

Occasional blog posts and monthly newsletters delivered to your inbox!

Links

About Me
Work With Me
Award Winning Essay
My Blog
Contact

Portfolio

Blogging
Business Communication
Literary Journalism
Website Content
Workshopping

Privacy Policy
Sudden Write Turn Freelance Writing

Search

Copyright © 2023 Sudden Write Turn Freelance Writing · All Rights Reserved · Site by TechCreative, LLC

Scroll Up