The unpredictability of mothers

[orinoco77]

I've just had a rather pleasant shock. I am prone to getting rut-bound. I'll find myself a niche and trundle along in it with the kind of tunnel vision moles would be proud of. It's a failing I've had for a long time. I'll dabble in things, but I won't ever commit to anything I haven't fully convinced myself I can do. This I have always attributed to my mother, who is the world's most careful person. While she likes the idea of me pursuing a writing career, it's usually pretty obvious she'd rather I stuck with a "proper" job. It came as something of a surprise, therefore, to find that she'd hoarded yesterday's Guardian for me, because it included a huge list of postgrad courses (including English Lit. and Lang. and several creative writing courses) and she thought I might like to quit my job, take out a 15 grand loan, spend 12 months getting myself an M.A. and launch myself bodily into publishing/editing/writing/journalism/whatever. Suffice it to say, I am a) impressed, and b) seriously considering it. Go, Mum!