For better or for worse.

Behind every great man is a great woman, they say. And behind every married female writer with small children, is a patient and generous husband. When I was asked July to come on board as a regular columnist, my positive response was contingent upon my husband Dan agreeing. I knew what he would say: "As long as it doesn't interfere with your other responsibilities."

I have enough of those. I'm a full-time homemaker and mother of five girls (ages 12 months to 12 years). I homeschool the three oldest, and do freelance writing when I'm not doing the laundry, baking bread, reading stories, changing diapers, or driving the girls to music lessons. We have a large yard and garden. The only thing I don't do is a lot of community work, for which I offer no apology. My top priority at this point is spending time with our children, not going to committee meetings.

Nevertheless, when the editor calls, you've got to answer. Dan and I discussed whether or not my schedule could accommodate regular deadlines (albeit only five per year) in addition to my other writing endeavours. Dan had reservations, with good reason. Try as I might, I'll never be a candidate for Homemaker of the Year. That doesn't mean I don't have high standards for cooking and tidiness, it just means I fall short pretty consistently. Nor am I the most well-organized or efficient person in the world.

After one particularly harrowing Monday last summer, in which I'd had to get groceries, run to the optometrist (twenty miles away), work on a manuscript, process some garden vegetables, and unpack from the previous weekend, Dan came home to relative chaos. I sensed he was annoyed because I'd spent a small part of my day writing to meet a deadline, so I said, "You know, it's not too late to cancel with Catholic Insight."

He replied, "Can't you cancel out anytime in the future?" But I thought to myself, 'No, I can't; a commitment is a commitment.' It's just like marriage: for better or worse, you're in it for the long haul. Either I'm committed to this form of armchair evangelization or I'm not. Either God is calling me to be a writer, or He isn't. I can't just say, "Lord, today I'll follow what I think is your will, but if it doesn't work out, I'll take a powder." Yes, it's a challenge. The question is, do you rise to the occasion, by the grace of God, or do you opt for safety, and shy away from opportunity? The scripture passage about hiding your light under a bushel basket resonates at such times.

The key is keeping one's priorities straight. Jesus didn't say "Seek ye first..." for the fun of it. Any avocation or part-time pursuit presents the temptation to shirk other duties, park the kids in front of the TV, and spend too much time with pen or keyboard in hand (as in weaker moments, I have done). I find writing therapeutic and relaxing, be it journal entries, articles for publication, or emailing my sisters. In order to curb my tendency to be at the computer hour upon hour, Dan and I agreed that I would write only between 9-11 p.m., when the children are in bed.

So for better or for worse, here I am. I hope it'll be a happy marriage. I'm not promising you'll like everything I write, I'll just do my best to be faithful to God and His Church, Catholic Insight, and its readers. Neither can I promise my husband he'll never have to eat cheese sandwiches again, or that the house won't be messy from time to time when a deadline looms. But I'll do my utmost to make sure my family always comes first.

We'll see how it goes. I'd like to thank my patient, generous husband for giving me a shot at a new part-time career. If you like what I've written, thank Dan; if you don't, feel free to email and tell me why. It'll make me a better writer, and hopefully a better person. I promise I'll write back- sometime between 9:00 and 11:00 p.m.

Mariette is Catholic Insight's newest columnist, from Scott, SK. She can be contacted at [e-mail] Next month another new columnist, Prof. Ian Hunter from London, ON, will take his place in our pages.