Something New

Today seems like a good day to start something new. (Or revive something old. But more on that later.)

Today is a good day to start something new for two reasons.

1) We have a snow day. My husband and I are both off work; the kids have no school. This is somewhat unheard of, even here in Wisconsin.

2) My sister is half a country away, in the process of giving birth to twins. I got the call late last night that she was going in to the hospital; I'm sitting here today, in Central Standard Time, waiting to hear from Pacific Time.

There's a lot more to the tale of the twins, but that's my sister's story to tell -- not mine. Suffice to say there's much joy in our family on this day as we wait for word.

So back to the something old. For 10 years, I wrote a column for our local newspaper that enabled me to meet lots of great people and share their life stories with readers. Some stick with me so strongly they almost feel like a part of my own life.

I still think about many of the people who let me into their lives at times of great celebration and times of great tragedy. Some of us stay in touch, but for those that I don't touch base with from time to time, I wonder how they are faring.

I also shared some of my own stories in that space along the way -- stories of becoming a mom for the first and second times, new homeownership, friendship.

It was great and I loved it and for 10 years, it was my favorite thing to do.

And then it wasn't. There's a reason for that, and I'm still deciding whether I'm going to get into that here or not. Maybe at some point I will.

(Just got an update call from the West Coast. No babies yet.)

So I'm going to try this as a way to get interested in writing again. I really feel like I lost it, and now I'm feeling that loss.

Today seems like a good day to try to wrap my arms around it again and hold it close while the snow falls outside and it is quiet enough for me to hear.