As a youngster, I often found myself sitting somewhere in the natural world with my bare feet firmly plugged into the planet.  It was anywhere I could spend some alone time, outside and think great thinks (shout out to Dr. Seuss’ pal Horton) and try and figure out some of the mysteries of life…or at least of the dramatic teen years!  In part because of a trauma in my early years and in part because I think it’s just who I am (quiet, and not one to speak profusely), I turned to journaling.  I have known since I was in the third grade that writing was something that spoke to me. In 2020 I was still trying to process grief from the loss of my husband (to cancer), deal with a broken leg, hope my daughter could get home to Idaho from New York during lockdown and figure out what I was going to do with the rest of my life. I had just sold my husband’s business and was a bit rudderless. The long hours alone in which I wasn’t even able to walk I had a lot to figure out. What came out of my Covid life-break was undertaking a two year writing course with the Institute for Children’s Literature, starting a photo business and saying yes to working on five different boards (four non-profits). What was I thinking with the boards! I’m finally off all but one, I have completed my wonderful writing course and opened photo studio in town.

When I started this blog page I wrote the following: Recently, I have been trying to figure out what I might do to find some excitement in a mentally stimulating kind of way…now that my daughter will start college in the fall (2016).  I needed something I could be excited about as she starts her new adventure.  During a recent retreat, we were given periods of time to sit quietly and just think.  To journal and to think.  It reminded me of how I loved to do that when I was young and I made a note to myself that I needed to do that more often.  Open up the brain…untie it…let it wander.  It’s so fun to see what rises up to be said or thought.  At that retreat we wrote a note to ourselves which was sent back to me a couple of weeks later.  In that note I’d reminded myself to take some alone/me/think time.  I’m going to give it a whirl.  With a blog page on which I can write some thoughts, I’m hoping that I will stay motivated to keep up my passion for writing and my need for big thinks time.  Whether anyone reads it or not, is irrelevant.  I just want to have fun writing.  Wish me luck!

Heather Black