It’s almost September, and soon the inevitable school bells will ring. September always feels like a new year to me, even though I no longer work in school or have children in school. September heralds the start of something, a time to make plans, buckle down, get busy. A time to learn something new. No matter how old we are, there is much to learn. I got a new car last week, one with so many digital bells and whistles that I find myself spending quite a bit of time sitting in the driveway with the owners manual in my hand, studying and learning how to operate them all. 

Although there is no owner’s manual for life, we each find our ways to make it through. For me, writing has always been my way of figuring things out. Sometimes I don’t know what I think or feel until I write about it. For most of my life I did my writing in private, but the advent of the internet allowed me to share my thoughts through words. The connections I’ve made have become an integral and vital part of my life.