Following my Heart.

The emails or comments that I still get the most are from people who say that they miss my column in the Cape Breton Post. Many of the people who I hear from are parents or even grandparents of people who are living out here in Fort McMurray. They liked getting the news from out here so that they could carry on conversations with their loved ones about the town they are living in. And at first I thought I would keep posting here just like I did in the paper. But then the self doubt crept in, and I thought that no one really cares about the silly things that I write about around town, so I let it go. In fact, I let a lot of my writing fall to the side, as I found myself writing about things that were not as interesting to me.

I stopped posting about local Fort McMurray news, East Coast talent, my journey in weight loss and even my person of the week idea. A few months ago a very good friend asked me what did I really want to do with my blog. What purpose did I want it to have, why did I start it in the first place? And because I value this friend's opinion, and he often makes me think about things, I kept thinking about his questions. And the one thing that kept coming up for me was that I started the blog to share whatever was happening with me so that if someone else was going through the same experience they would not feel so alone. So while it may not have any great "purpose", it's honest, and real and even silly at times, and I will go back to writing whatever moves me, and I will keep people posted about local events.

I am creating a schedule that I hope to stick to, and have several pieces ready to go. I will continue to do my person of the week, and that person can be from any where, you never know where you are going to meet someone wonderful, or how someone will impact your life in a positive way. But I am also going to start writing about groups or people that may need help. I want to write about volunteer opportunities, fundraising events that strike a chord with me, and groups that need people to help out in different ways. I always have loved talking about ways to volunteer or help out, and I am hoping through the blog to tell you about some wonderful groups that are always working so hard in communities right across the country.

So if you have a parent on the East Coast that once read my column with the Post, please feel free to send them this blog link and tell them to follow along, I am pretty excited to go back to my old ways.