This is a photograph of a friend’s granddaughter. If you take a closer look, you will notice she is actually holding a copy of Not Alone On The Voyage in her hands. I’m not sure she’s actually reading it in this photo, but I have heard that this little girl is already reading.

She hasn’t even officially started school yet. Somehow, I think she’s got a bright future ahead of her. In some ways, I envy her – she’s got a LOT of great reading ahead of her, and absolutely no idea of what’s out there…just waiting for its moment.

When I first saw this photo, I have to say (and not to sound too much like I’m bragging) I was reminded a little bit of myself. My parents have told me that I could read when I was three – and not just a basic storybook. I was apparently reading The Globe and Mail – a national newspaper on about the same level of the Washington Post, maybe the New York Times to some folks. Reading early wasn’t something my parents pushed on me, but I suppose I saw them sitting and reading at the kitchen – so I simply imitated what I was seeing on a daily basis. 

My parents just thought I was pretending. Then they actually sat and listened to me and realized I was reading the newspaper – word for word.

Perhaps that is why I have such a love of words today. I have always been more comfortable writing things down than having to say them, and I have fallen back onto the written word more times than I care to admit. If you asked anyone that knows me – even just the tiniest bit – they would probably agree.

The written word never judges. It never leads you astray – it always takes you to the next step of your journey. It will be with you in good times as you celebrate and will be with your when your heart is breaking into a million pieces.

For me, the written word is in many ways the one tether, the one thing I on which I can always rely. The one thing that, regardless of how long you step away and ignore it, will always be waiting for you to return to it – and just be glad you found your way back.

When I was as young as this little girl, the written word opened itself up to me, and started me on a wonderful journey. Even today, when so much has changed from those early years in ways, I never even imagined possible, the written word still remains the one constant on my journey.

And while it’s true I haven’t written much the last little while, the words have been running through my head, colouring my dreams, and sitting with in times of quiet reflection. It’s a bit of a complicated relationship, but it is one I continue to treasure and am forever thankful.

Finally, I am ready to begin the next step of the journey with the written word. I am slowly inching toward pulling up an old story that has been sitting on my laptop for year and revisiting it – because the story is finally speaking to me, pulling itself to the forefront and letting me that now is the time to move the story forward.

So…that’s what’s happening. Hold on to your seat belts, people.

As an added bonus, I have also recently stumbled across some old posts from another blog I began years back, and I may look to sharing some of these with you in the next little while. Most of them are about my life in the Canadian Arctic – not necessarily about writing – but I think that at a time when travel is not something many of us can do right now, it might be a bit of a comfort. I hope you will enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.

And I will be starting to move forward on my next story, to ensure this little girl has another book to read in the future….