Welcome to my blog. This is my first post and only a beginning. My purpose for this blog is to share my thoughts and my life with you and you with me.

I am a writer and have been for years. When I was younger, I loved writing letters to my Aunt and friends. I also had pen pals-remember those days? It was exciting to sit and write a letter, unleash thoughts on pretty paper, and send it out in a stamped envelope. I loved getting letters in the mail. What a delight! I couldn’t wait until the mailman came and had mail for “me.” I would write long letters, and I know my Aunt enjoyed reading them, but I wonder if she enjoyed them as much as I enjoyed writing them.

Then I began a diary when I was in third grade. Remember those- the ones we would write in and then lock with a little key? Well, that’s the kind of diary I had-so that we could write secret thoughts. All I remember writing was, “I kissed a boy today.” That was the boy I met on the Santa Fe train when I went with my grandmother to California. It took us three days to get there, and it was one of my most exciting memories. My diary could have been so exciting if I wasn’t so intimidated by the pages. I didn’t let the words flow like you do when writing a letter. Instead, I wrote the part about kissing a boy. Then the next day, we kissed again. It was nothing. He was in his seat, and I sat in the back of him. He would climb up, we would kiss, and then laugh and giggle as we were told to sit down. So I entered, ” I kissed a boy today.” Then the next day, it said, “I kissed him again.” After that, I think I wrote what I did in California, but since I don’t have the diary anymore, I am not sure what it said. I only remember the kissing part.

As I got older, I continued to like to write, except when it was an assigned paper. Then I was paralyzed. It took forever to get the words down. Research papers made me so nervous, and any writing assignment caused anxiety. But, once I got started, I enjoyed writing and continued to write. I had many opportunities as I went on to college and eventually completed a Master of Education degree. Later as a professor myself, I always assigned papers and presentations. I think everyone should develop writing and speaking skills. But my favorite writing was and still is when I am all alone and want to write. I can make up poems and write about life and my days with no trouble. I liked to write, and I still do.

Today I have over 50 journals. I began my adult journals when I was about 33 years old. That was over 20 years ago. A journal is always in my purse, and I write almost daily. I don’t edit or worry about what I am writing, so it comes without anxiety. My journal feels like my best friend- no judgment and utterly open to my every word. So I write and write and sometimes draw pictures and excerpts from books or tell what my day was like or jot down a poem or the title for one of the many books inside me.

My journals are handwritten, but I have also enjoyed correspondence via e-mail. I have many documents written on my various topics of interest. I still enjoy writing letters on pretty paper in a stamped envelope, but I also enjoy this new technology, although I am overwhelmed by its many possibilities.

I have wanted to write a book for a long time. I have thousands of words written for a memoir. I have written several poems and essays on health and wellness. I want to write a book that you can read, but again I have that same anxiety like it is an assignment, and thus I lose my creativity. Now it has to be organized and look like something that has a linear train of thought. My mind doesn’t work that way. My thoughts often feel like flash photography at high speed. Meditation and yoga are necessary practices for me to slow down and focus and balance.

So I started this blog to write and perhaps hear from you. What do you like or not like about what I have to say? What do you want more or less of?

My writing has a consistent theme – deep health and wellness going beyond just how we stay fit and trim and live forever, but how we enjoy our existence, realizing we are forever.

Maybe you will share your stories.

That’s all for this post. I feel myself editing my words now, which stops me from flowing. I will write more. This is just the beginning.

Thank you for visiting.