Imagine being a teenage kid and having your stories spread across the front page and indeed around the world via internet by your mom. Then imagine that the stories become so popular and sought after that theyâre put into book form and forever memorialized. Most kids probably might balk at the prospect, but not the Hicks kids! In fact, their mom has to be careful to include them in columns on an equal basis or they get miffed.
Spend some time reading The Perfect World Inside My Minivan -- One Mom's Journey Through the Streets of Suburbia (Faith Publishing Service, November 2006, paperback, 153 pages) by Marybeth Hicks and youâll come to see pretty quickly why these particular teens think their mom is so cool. Since 2004, Marybeth Hicks has been looking to her family for motivation and inspiration, and her children have delivered. Now, to the delight of fans of her weekly internet and Washington Times work, Hicks has gathered her words into book format. As a long term fan of the work of this talented writer, Iâm thrilled to recommend this book to families of any size or age. Marybeth Hicks writes with a freshness and universality that will make you think sheâs been spying on you in your minivan or SUV! Marybethâs columns have always been on my must-read list. This book should be a primer for any mom or dad looking to savor the parenting journey and enhance their relationship with their own children.
Marybeth Hicks slowed her minivan recently to offer the following thoughts on her writing, her family, her faith and todayâs culture. Iâm pleased to share the following interview and strongly recommend her book.
Q: Marybeth Hicks, congratulations on the publication of your first book, The Perfect World Inside My Minivan -- One Mom's Journey Through the Streets of Suburbia. Could you please briefly introduce yourself and your family to our readers?
A: Thanks, Lisa! Iâm probably a lot like your readers â" a wife and mom, living in a fairly typical American suburb, raising four children while holding down a part-time job (writing from home) and folding endless loads of laundry. I make it a point to plan at least four meals a week that donât include cream of mushroom soup in the ingredients list, and I try to spend more than an hour a week alone with my husband and more than a few fleeting minutes each day in prayer. Those two goals are not easily met.
By profession Iâm a writer â" the only respectable job for an English major. I graduated from Michigan State University, worked in public relations for a few years, and then âmommy trackedâ to be at home with our children. I launched my newspaper column in 2004, and itâs been running in The Washington Times and on several big web sites since then.
Q: The book is a collection of your wonderful columns - how did you happen to begin writing and why the column format?
A: Writing was the thing I was always best at. Math was not. In fact, as a student, I would sooner write about a math problem than do one. So it was a sure bet I would one day gravitate toward a job that included written communication. For a good 20 years, on and off (see above about âmommy trackingâ), I worked in marketing communications where I never wrote in my own voice. I even got pretty good at imitating the voices of corporate execs as I wrote talking points and speeches! But the demands of a job outside my home, and my growing sense that God had given me a gift for writing that should be put to better use, drew me to begin writing what I knew â" writing about my journey through motherhood.
Q: How do your kids feel about being the subject matter for your work and is anything strictly off limits?
A: This is a great question and I get it a lot. There are some folks who think my children are probably horrified to be featured in a newspaper column and now, in a book. But the opposite actually is true. If a few weeks go by and one of them isnât the subject of a column, sheâll usually pout and tell me sheâs neglected (I say âsheâ because my only son has never done this!). Yes, there are topics that are strictly off limits. Iâm not doing this column to exploit my family; Iâm doing it to share the issues and experiences that affect us and others across the country. I make it a practice to tell my children when they are the subject of an upcoming column and to read it to them before I file it. Once, when I wrote about Jimmyâs (thankfully former) propensity to lie to me, I asked him if he thought others might be having this same issue and if we could help families by sharing our struggle with this problem. He decided it was a good thing for us to do, so I wrote it. He came out pretty good in the end, so it was OK.
Q: What motivates or sparks your interest in writing about a topic? Where do you get your column ideas?
A: My motivation is my strong sense that parenting in our culture is mostly an uphill battle. Weâre struggling against media that feed our children unbelievable messages with nearly uncontrollable reach and frequency. Iâm motivated by the desire to instill in my children the moral, ethical and spiritual tools they need to be responsible, accountable and holy adults. Iâm motivated by tacky advertising, âHappy Bunnyâ t-shirts, stories about third graders who use instant messaging, television shows and movies that corrupt our culture and generally, anything that gets my goat, parent-wise. Iâm also motivated and inspired by my own experiences as a mother, which Iâve found are so universal.
Q: How has your Catholic faith impacted upon your parenting style and your writing career?
A: Tremendously! My Catholic faith is the foundation on which my husband and I have built our marriage and on which we now build our family. Viewing my life as a wife and mother through the framework of a vocation means I view my roles as the work I do for God, and I view my gift for writing in the same way. I think God gives us all talents that we ought to use in His service. In my case, Iâm sort of a âscribe for the tribeâ â" I write about things weâre all experiencing in a voice that feels familiar and maybe sends an encouraging message.
Q: What words of wisdom would you offer to parents with children entering the adolescent and high school years?
A: Welcome to the big leagues! Early childhood is the time when we foster respect for our authority as parents â" adolescence is the time when that authority will be tested and tried. As parents, we have to recognize that the risks our kids face are even greater than those we faced, simply because the world offers more and easier temptations (think of a teenaged boy 25 years ago having copies of a girlie magazine hidden in his room. Now imagine that same teen simply surfing the net for porn and meeting people online who produce it!). Our culture presents huge challenges to us but I believe itâs possible to keep the culture at bay while we instill the values and religious foundation that our children need to be holy and happy followers of Christ. That said, get comfortable with the word ânoâ and use it â" frequently!
Q: Which, if any, of the columns is your favorite? What do your children have to say about their mom's work?
A: My children are immensely proud of me. As a parent itâs typical for us to express our pride at our kidsâ accomplishments but most of the time our professional work isnât something they see or are aware of. Mine are proud of the work I do and this makes it even more fun for me. Favorite columns? I have a fewâ âSilent night for mother and son,â my Christmas column in which I contemplate Mary sitting at the edge of Jesusâ bed just as I sit at Jimmyâs; âThe saddest day of summerâ about Amyâs best buddy moving away; âNobody warned me about driverâs ed,â my first Washington Times column about Katieâs new driver permit; and âSpeaking out is always cool,â about Betsyâs tendency to defend others. (Notice I picked one about each kid â" Iâm no dummy!).
Q: Thank you so much for your time and participation in this book spotlight. Are there any parting words you'd like to share with our readers?
A: Other than to buy my book? Just to enjoy the journey of parenthood, to be courageous and thoughtful in the decisions you must make for your children, and to remember that God has give you everything you need to lead your children to Him. And have fun!
For more information on The Perfect World Inside My Minivan -- One Mom's Journey Through the Streets of Suburbia visit
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0979074703/catholicmomcom
Lisa M. Hendey, wife and mother of two sons, is the webmaster of http://www.catholicmom.com and the podcast host of http://www.catholicmoments.com. Visit her at http://www.lisahendey.com for more information.
Article Source:
http://www.faithwriters.com-
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