I’m Finally Living My Childhood Dreams — It’s Great to Regress!

It took a lot of learning, planning and a bit of risk taking, but…

The Backstory

They say to find what it is you should do with your life, you should trace back to your early childhood for clues.

When I was a child, my favorite things were writing little stories and cutting and folding them into little books. My other favorite thing was reading. I was a voracious reader, and before I finished the second grade, I read every single Nancy Drew Mystery in our school library. I just loved books!

I remember the feeling I had after I finished my last Nancy Drew mystery, and I experienced withdrawals and a sense of loss. I was like a junkie looking for my next fix!

At home, I read the household encyclopedias and my parents' books. I just wanted knowledge and intriguing stories. I even read the dictionary to learn new words. Hey, don’t laugh, we didn’t have the internet back then. But I love reading, and I love books.

And then the teenage mind meld happened.

As it happens for all small children, life kept getting busier, and I became a busy teen with school, extracurriculars, friends, long-distance running (no, there were no audiobooks back then either), or sometimes I had a part-time job.

I put away my childhood passions. I stopped making little books, and my reading was mostly reserved for homework, assigned book reading, and teen magazines. I became a fully indoctrinated teen girl. I was part of the Borg — I mean, the teen collective with the hive mind.

Ah, did I really just make two Star Trek references here?

And then came adult life

As an adult, I’d write a lot in the context of work, and as the internet emerged, I read more online content than books. There are pros and cons there. I did a bit of blogging from time to time, but I didn’t stick with it to really build my blogs in the past. My ADHD would drive me to the next new thing.

Oh yeah, and there was full on adulting including parenting. I read every book I could find on parenting, but still, found myself winging it. Yikes, imposter syndrome parenting! Nope, parenting is not for the faint of heart — it’s a beautiful roller coaster ride for sure. Did I mention my son is the best son on Earth? *insert smile, hearts, and winkie emojis here, ha.

Ok, back to our program…

I’m finally writing again on a regular basis and loving it — really loving it. Although I’m not putting out new stories as often as I had hoped, I’m having a satisfying blast with it, and I’m writing about whatever I want with the hopes you are enjoying it too.

I caught myself saying “I’m a writer…” the other day, and it gave me a cheap thrill. Yes, I AM a writer, just like I said I would be when I was a child. I probably should have specified a rich writer so I wouldn’t have to keep working a day job (more on that coming up).

And then there’s the book thing…

However, it’s not just the writing, but I’ve become a book collector and reseller. I spend all my spare time perusing books from every imaginable source including estate sales and used bookstores, and more to go treasure hunting for gems. I’m hunting mostly vintage books, and my favorites are historical, science, psychology, and science fiction.

I haven’t been writing as much the past few weeks and my initial goal was to amass a sizeable collection and then decide what to keep and what to sell. I have been spending entire days driving around and hunting for books, and night after night I’ve spent cataloging my books and photographing them.

As a newbie reseller, this is most definitely NOT passive income. It’s a ton of hands-on work, and a steep learning curve to determine what to buy and what I might have to buy and hold.

But it’s the good kind of sickness.

But I’m absolutely loving it, and I’m completely obsessed. I mean, I’m crazy-level obsessed. I had to hold myself back from book hunting for a bit because I needed to get more storage and shelves and find solutions for proper storage of my books.

Anyway, I’m now sitting on hundreds of vintage books and trying to determine which ones to sell now, which ones to keep for my own pleasure, and which one’s I’ll have to hold for a few years. I’d say every book I got is worth a little more than I paid, but that means nothing yet. I still have to list them and sell them, and timing is everything — I have to wait for the right buyers for the right books.

The time will come for my vintage book biz to flourish — I know it, because I’m following my bliss. I just know it.

The other thing…

Well, here’s the thing. I’ve tightened my purse strings this year, and I’m working part-time now so I have the time to really pursue my first passions. I’m even getting benefits while working part-time, so yeah, I really am living the dream. I really don’t even miss the frivolous expenditures I’ve cut out, with the exception of craving some travel right now, but I’m still living my own version of paradise — writing, books, and sometimes, long walks on the beach (oh, that was another story).

Crap, here I am up late at night after sorting through books and now writing. I’m tired, but I’m doing things that are completely immersive for me. Ah right, now to get some sleep. Why am I always ending my stories with this?

Good night!