This blog has been an on-again/off-again project. My last post was in August when I wrote about the Ironman swim in Ottawa. I had planned out the next two posts – about the ride and the run – but life got in the way with the return to work, coaching and training, as well as the usual household duties, dog-momming and parenting. Weeks later, I tried to return to blogging but I felt the Ironman sections were old news and no longer interesting. I had no idea what to write about next.

Like the child in school who is asked to write a story or a poem on the spot, I didn’t know where to start. What is my topic? My message? My audience? I didn’t have answers for any of these questions. For the first time, I was paralyzed by writer’s block.

As fall progressed, I tried again and again to pick up a pencil or open my computer. My desire to write was there; the ideas were not. My page was left blank.

This weekend (and months later) I had the turn-around that I needed. While running with a friend and catching up on our lives, families, running and training, I had my “ah-ha moment.” My blog is my voice. Blogging gives me the time I need to share my thoughts and feelings with others – friends, strangers, anyone who will read. When I am working in schools, most of my time is with kids and my focus is teaching; social time does exist but it is usually a quick 2-3 minute fly-by chat. While training, I am almost always alone. (I do swim with others but swimming and talking at the same time is next to impossible.) From one day to the next, while I am happy and busy, I have not had the same opportunities to share my thoughts and stories that I did when I was working full-time. Social media is a fun way to connect, but the number of characters limits what I want to say; a blog is the best forum for me to use my voice.

So here I sit, pen and journal beside me, ideas being transferred from messy script to neat text, and I am smiling because I am writing again.

And I have so much to share……..