Why I write

The other day my aunt June complimented me on my writing. My reply to her follows - I thought it was worth sharing more widely.

Thank you for your compliments about my writing. I'll admit with some pride that you're not the only person who has said that. Have you seen my "blog"? I started this about a year ago when I realized that not only did people enjoy my writing, but I had come to the point in my life where I actually had something to say. I had never considered myself particularly insightful or philosophical or good at giving advice, though I have always been one to journal and reflect on things. Then three things happened.

First, the pastor who did our marriage counseling closed our session by saying that Will and I have a very strong relationship and good communication skills, and that other couples will look to us for guidance when they are struggling with their relationships. He told us we should be prepared to explain how we keep our relationship healthy, and encouraged us to consider becoming formal mentors for others who are preparing for marriage. (We haven't done that yet but we probably will once we get a few more years of experience!)

Second, an acquaintance (who has since become a good friend) wrote me a note to thank me for supporting her. I merely had coffee with her a couple of times, one time right after a grandparent died, and another time to listen to her dilemmas about her career. If she hadn't been sweet enough to thank me, I never would have realized what this meant to her and how my questions and observations had helped her.

And third, I started writing a column for our newsletter at work, where each month I do an essay about something from my life and then I link it to our company or products. For example, when I was learning to knit I wrote about that, and the different ways people learn knitting - from a book, a class, a grandmother, by trial and error, etc. and I compared that to how our company offers several ways of learning our software, to suit different learning styles. Every month I get emails from people I had never met, who are on our mailing list, and they feel like I'm their friend. They write to me about their own knitting experiences, or how they appreciated my reflections about the award dinner I went to, or they agreed that the penguin story was poignant, etc etc and I realized I was building a rapport with these strangers through my writing.

So those three experiences tugged at my sleeve and insisted that I become more intentional about sharing what is inside my head.

I hope you enjoy my blog and occasionally find a kernel of wisdom here.