A new adventure

As I write this I am at our family cottage on Cobbossee Lake, helping to close up for the winter. This past June, when the trees were filled with singing birds instead of autumn leaves, I experienced a kind of epiphany. I woke up early one morning and knew it was time to let go of some things and embark on a new adventure. I thought about it a great deal over the summer and I still feel the same way. Instead of sitting in front of my computer for hours every day, I’m going to be in my studio painting. 

Effectively immediately, I will not be writing any new posts for my Catching Health blog. I plan to keep the website up because it gets a fair amount of traffic from search engines and frankly, I have put my heart and soul into every post I’ve written since the first one (on chilblains in January 2011) and can’t bear to simply shut it all down.

I will continue, for now, to do monthly podcast episodes for my other site Catching Your Memories, and will take on occasional clients interested in personal interviews. I will also continue to send out my newsletter on a monthly basis to share podcast episodes, and perhaps some health-related information I come across that I think might be relevant. Feel free to contact me if there is something you’d like to know more about. I may also include an update here and there about my new painting adventure. 

In 2010, I decided to leave a good job with benefits and a regular salary to become a freelance writer. I knew it was a big risk but I also knew that if I didn’t at least give it a try I would never forgive myself. I was fortunate to get writing clients right out of the gate. My daughter suggested that I might enjoy writing a blog, and Catching Health was born. A few years later, I thought it would be fun and interesting to also have a podcast.

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that if something presents itself to you that piques your interest, you owe it to yourself to take a look. In 2010, I had no idea what a blog was, and when I started researching podcasting I was overwhelmed. It would have been easy to decide I couldn’t do either, but I do not want to be on my deathbed kicking myself for not daring to try something that really interests me, so I took a deep breath and dove in. That’s how I’m feeling about painting. I love to paint, but it’s always last on the list if it even makes the list. Not anymore.

I am grateful to all of you who have followed and supported me and my work, many of you from way back when I was the health reporter on Channel 6. I could never have accomplished what I have without you.

I hope you will stay with me as I embark on this new adventure. I’m wicked excited about it! And by the way, I chose today to make the announcement because October 13 is my birthday. I am a glorious 75 years old, and I’ve got a blank canvas in front of me.