Banner introduces new feature writer, columnist
By Cathy Krafve features@bullardnews.com

KRAFVE

If I could tell young moms one thing it would be that when you finish raising your kids, you get to do something else. And that something can be something Big, with a capital B.

To all the young moms out there everywhere, you will feel capable because nothing is as challenging as raising kids, plus the process gives you all kind of skills and makes you virtually embarrassment-proof.

There's nothing like taking a two-year-old into public to teach a young mom the advantages of being thickskinned.

No one told me that there is an afterlife for stay-at-home moms once they get their children raised.

When I began the project of raising my own children 21 years ago, it looked like such a long-term commitment that I never for a minute even considered what I would do once they no longer needed me.

My husband tells me that in a few more years I will be so involved with grandchildren that I won't have a spare minute again. Maybe. Ooh, I hope so.

In the meantime, I have some spare energy.

"Mom, you need to follow your dreams. Dream big," my middle daughter recently told me. One of the beautiful things about raising kiddoes is at some point they start to fire your own advice back at you. How ironic, that all the preaching I've done over the years is starting to find it's way back to me.

Okay, so here's my big dream. I want to be a syndicated columnist.

I have always been a patriot about the fourth estate.

You know, the fourth balance to the three branches of our democratic government, that is, the free press.

And I'm big on local papers reporting local news. I like knowing who the folks are, who the local heroes are, the civic leaders, the volunteers that really get the job done, the local kid who makes good. I also like knowing my representatives and telling them what I think when they're home between sessions. I vote every election even when the race is uncontested. While I don't particularly like either political party, I am thankful for both of them and for the third-party candidates who hold them accountable.

So what if the syndicates never pick me up.

I'll settle for seeing my words in print in a local newspaper.

With that in mind, I dropped in to meet Lori Mellinger, editor of my favorite small town rag.

Can you believe she gave me a shot at my dream?

This may seem particularly surprising now that you've read a few paragraphs of my writing.

I figure with Lori's experience and editing, I might have a shot at the big leagues.

Even if I miss, it is tremendous fun taking a small shot at the big target.

Education was a given in my family.

I come from a long line of really smart, well-educated people, especially on the Primer side.

Since I managed to go to kindergarten twice; I suspect I was a disappointment from the start.

My mother, who is truly a visionary, repeated her mantra throughout my childhood: "You are a genius, Cathy."

This is the one and only thing I've ever known my mother to lie about. Of course, I was a first-born child, which could explain why mom was confused about the genius thing.

I grew up in Tyler, graduated from Robert E. Lee in 1977 with a bunch of folks who are now civic leaders around East Texas and a few who aren't.

I like them either way.

There is something about growing up in a small town and knowing three generations of folks.

I went off to the University of Texas, a family tradition that my younger siblings avoided, adding Baylor colors to the orange and white of our family loyalties.

Back in the days between the Civil War and the Industrial Age, my greatgrandfather had been head of the language department at "the University" (which is what we all called UT before it had branches all over

Timbuktu).

I flunked three semesters

of French in spite of my pedigree, but graduated with a bachelor's in journalism anyway.

My other big dream is to be bilingual.

Three years ago, the same middle daughter talked me into taking Spanish with her.

My oldest daughter joined in and now two out of three of us are fluent. Okay, I'm functional, not fluent unless you are bilingual, in which case I have to admit I'm barely functional.

I figure it took me eight years to learn how to read and write in English, if you count the two years of kindergarten.

So that means I still have five more years to practice my Spanish.

About 10 year's ago, my husband and I moved to Flint from Tyler after a short detour to Louisiana.

I suppose there are those who will think that when we get really smart we'll make it all the way to Bullard.

They may be right, but for now we couldn't be happier surrounded by the loving neighbors and friends on our street.

My parents' oldest child, that would be me, will be 50 soon.

I have two grown daughters who - in spite of us -- turned out all right and a son who is an inspiration to his mom, the would-be writer.

William, our 10-year-old and youngest, is the editor of his own little neighborhood newspaper and, I have to say, he makes it look easy.

So that's the scoop on the new writer at the Banner and her big dreams.

Now all I have to do is write a good enough article to get past Lori.

Wish me luck!