I'm Not Toby Ziegler. Yet.

Someone, I neglected to write down who, said that to consider yourself a writer you have to write. For years I "wanted" to be a writer. But I had more ideas than discipline, not to mention no willingness to put what little I did write out into the world. In the last couple of years, however, I have assumed the mantle of "writer", not because I have a published body of work but because every day I write. I write, therefore I am.

Cut to today. I'm in the Cantwell office, stuffing envelopes with a couple of older women from Vashon Island. We're chatting amiably about this and that. These are a couple of gals who could have been "witnesses" in the movie "Reds"...they clearly have spent their adult lives working for a variety of causes and campaigns, fighting the good fight. An intern, Phillip, walks in and sits with us, puzzling over a sheet of paper. He finally says, "This flyer really needs to be rewritten and I'm just not good with words".

"May I look at it?" I ask, "I'm a writer, maybe I can help".

He hands it over happily. The problem is clear and I blue pencil the thing in about five minutes.

Phillip asks me about my writing, how long I've been doing it, what I've published. The first answer is easy. Then I tell him I'm not published, yet. But it wasn't an apology. I don't feel lame because you can't do a search for me on Amazon. That will come. I'm sure of it. But it doesn't mitigate the fact that I am a writer.

I was listening to NPR yesterday and heard a conversation with a composer named Osvaldo Golijov. His last comment resonated with me: "So, you do what you believe in". Amen. I care for my home and family because I believe in the sacrament of marriage and the value of raising children to be light in the world. I'm involved with politics because I believe that you can't complain if you don't participate. And every day I write because I believe that that is what I'm supposed to do with my life. And yeah, I mentioned to Phillip that any time a writing project comes up I'm happy to help out. Not, I quickly pointed out, that I have any problem with stuffing envelopes, but it is a skill I can use for the cause if they wish. And I don't think I would have done that three years ago, before I started to consider myself a writer.

Note to Spouse: All I did was edit a flyer. It was not a policy brief nor am I on staff as a speech writer. Yet.