My Journey

I began blogging in 2009. I have written the story of how I came to blogging before, but am still grateful to Gord for pointing the way to what has become a lifestyle and career for me. It has been a journey which has taken many twists and turns, but the words have led me through. 

Those words have shown up in many places. This blog was my first, but certainly not the only place where I've written. Few know of the small blog I started to work out a little more of my grief journey. It was short-lived and didn't have many entries, but some of them were rather insightful. 

For whatever reason today, I found myself perusing that old blog. I suppose I can guess what drew me there. It's April; the month in which I was married, bought the house I live in now, and on April 1st, 2007 Brad was hospitalized with what looked like a stroke, but which ended up being a bleed in his brain. The cause; his cancer had spread and was now inoperable and fatal. 

April was an awful month for years. In 2008 I found myself retreating back into a worse state, not realizing it was a grief wave set in motion due to anniversary stress. By 2009, I knew to expect the awful choking memories and residual grief surges which flared during this difficult time period. In the years that followed, the waves were less difficult to maneuver, but still there none the less.

Today, I still feel the effects from a time period that smashed the world as I knew it. April 1st was the anniversary of the beginning of the end of my life with Brad. He will be gone nine years this summer. It is hard to believe sometimes, but I cannot imagine my life any other way now. Much has come and gone since then, but it's still hard not to feel his presence in April. And I guess that's alright.

So today I thought I would share an old post from a time long ago. I feel it held hope, which makes me glad for that woman who was days away from the 4th anniversary of impending loss. And those words offered pretty sage advice, if I do say so myself.

~~~

MY JOURNEY

March 25th, 2011;

Listen

When those that walk the earth take flight

we cry and tear our hair so tight,

but listen quiet and you'll hear

their footsteps follow always near.

When we have known someone, they leave an imprint on our soul. That cannot be erased. A loved one's voice will always be there to comfort and guide the way, if you but just listen...

I am Calling on You!

Any erstwhile readers here know that my creative writing hasn't flowed as profusely as it once did. There used to be posts here daily or at least several times a week, often filled with poetry, my take on artistic photographs, short stories or whatever prose filled my head at the moment. Well, I have still written a few posts, but that output is a far cry from what it used to be.

Nonetheless, I have still been blogging. And not just for hire. My writer's blog usually gets a new entry at least once a week. Writers need to keep those creative juices flowing, don't you know! And recently a post I published there even inspired some creative writing of my own.

"Where is it?" you wonder.

Well, it was entered into a contest. And now is when I need the help of all my friends here to help. You see I entered the "Defining Moments" contest hosted by Canada Writes. The contest is open to all Canadians over the age of 16. Entries are expected to be written about moments in our lives that transformed who we are. You can write about anything, but are limited by a 200-500 word count. That didn't stop me, and my story was in by the second day. The contest is open til February 23rd and the 12 stories with the most support then move on to get judged.

So do you know what I want from you yet? That's right, I need your vote! I have been plugging my story wherever and whenever I can. Now it's your turn to click on the link below, then give me a big thumbs up (on the right side). You don't need to register to vote. All I ask is that you do. Heck, you can read all of the stories and vote for any of them! But I am hoping I can stay at the top of this popularity contest as long as possible. My story is doing well so far!

What are you waiting for? Get reading...

*Phone Calls*

Editing Africa

For those of you who read this blog back when I regularly contributed excerpts about my travels through Africa, I want to thank you today. Just as it was a long process to write the story, it is a long process to edit it. It has all taken much longer than the original 10 months that I was gone for, but every time I step back into the tale, I am transported. And the encouragement that I received from you then, feeds me every time I push words around on the page today.

So, I just wanted to let you know that I have not given up the tale. There are 244 pages and counting, with new subtitles and potential pictures to be added. I am determined to see this project through to the end once more. I wandered through Zimbabwe today celebrating birthdays with friends, adding a little here and taking a little away there. And YOU my readers were with me.

Thanks.

And now, back to finishing the task at hand - dinner!

Add the pasta, and this will be a tasty treat

A New Day | A Writer's Take

I have been writing and publishing posts at a New Day for four years now. In fact, this month I will celebrate my fourth anniversary of calling this cherished blog home. It has been a source for deep emotions, plenty of poetry and more than a tale or two. In the last 10 months though (truly more like 7), I have created a new space for my creativity. While I will always know that it was via this blog, and my experiences here, that I was able to forge a new direction in life, namely that of Freelance Writer, I have desired a new outlet for my writing. "A New Day" will always be home to my poetry, but "A Writer's Take" embraces my new career aspirations and offers support to other writers out in the blogosphere. If you haven't had a chance to stop by, I would love it if you did!

Today though, I wanted to share a special article that I posted over at "A Writer's Take". It is hard not to have themes run throughout both blogs, as they are written by the same author (me!), but this post speaks of the beginning of this very blog. I think it does a far cry better job of describing how "A New Day" came to be than any of my first posts that I published here. Do me a favour and take a peek at A New Day | A Writer's Take and leave me a comment to let me know that you stopped by.

And thank you for being along for the ride. You are my strength, my tools and my sunsets, for today is a new day...