A Win Win Situation

My writing career has opened up so many opportunities for me. Through writing I’ve learned new things - like how to make metal garden sculptures with artist Jennifer Wolcott and and how to cover an airplane with an eco-friendly aircraft finishing process. My writing has given me a chance to write and record family stories, to be creative, to capture a moment or the essence of a lifetime and tell a story the best I can. Perhaps best of all, I've met so many cool people who, through the things they do and say, remind me that there's a lot of good stuff going on in our world. 
My writing career has also opened up more career opportunities for me.  Less than a year ago, I was offered the opportunity to write for a newly launched, community news and information website, Northfield Patch. Though I already had plenty of work, I was excited enough about Northfield Patch that I told editor, Corey Butler, Jr., that I would write for Patch anyway. I’m glad I did! 
My Patch stories have focused on cool things kids are doing in our schools and also on the arts. And, no surprise, through writing for Patch I’ve learned so many new things - like how grade-school children can make a difference by forming an environmental club, about how 6th graders learn about history through doing History Day projects, about a 3rd grade class who folded 1,000 origami cranes and made a wish for the world. Each story unfolds something new to tell and has opened up so many new connections for me with the wonderful people in our community.
It’s a win win situation, I’d say.
Indeed. Because now my connection with Patch is affording me yet another opportunity - I get to share my blog, Idyllwild, with the Northfield Patch community. From time to time I may write a Patch specific post, but most of the time the Patch blog will be my regular posts with a few tweaks for the different audience. I'll get to share my love of bicycling, flying and my family with a new audience, maybe turn on a few people to fun things like 30 Days of Biking or encourage them to do other fun things with their families.


I'm excited for the new opportunity!
It's another win win situation, I'd say.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Change in Plans

Image
My kids, Rose and Ryan, started a theater day camp today called Young People's Theater Workshop (YPTW). YPTW is a program put on through the Northfield Arts Guild  during which the kids, grouped by age, write a play, rehearse it, and then perform it at the end of the three week session. Rose loves the camp and this is her fourth year. In her first year I saw a huge change in her confidence from the beginning of the session to the end. She has grown each year since and I expect she will benefit from the camp again this year. Ryan has never been in YPTW and has been somewhat reluctant to go. But, to save on gas (it's a 30 mile round trip to town), make our schedule easier and give me time to work, Owen and I decided that Ryan should give YPTW a try. Given how good the program has been for Rose, we're hoping Ryan will benefit from the program as well. I dropped the kids off this morning and right off the bat Ryan found two friends from his class at Greenvale. He found
Read more

A Little Bike Schooling on the B Ride

I'll be honest with you, my two main motivations for riding my bike any distance are coffee and conversation. A good workout is also a motivator but going really fast is not. I'm more of a slow and steady - okay, really slow and not that steady - sort of bicyclist. But for months now I've wanted to join in on a group ride. From what I've heard people ride their bikes, chat away the miles and stop somewhere for a cup of coffee mid-way or at the end of the ride. Sounds like my kind of ride. Right? Maybe not. Most of the group rides I've heard about promise average speeds of 18 to 20 miles per hour or more and go 40 or more miles. Some sound brutal and talk about hill climbs and sprints. Granted, these are the "A" rides, rides geared towards competitive riders, riders who want to push their limits. "B" rides are supposed to be slower, "C" rides even more so but I've seen some C rides that sound too fast for me, some B rides with leng
Read more

One of the Best Bike Rides. Ever.

I hauled my bike over to the Cannon Valley Trail today to ride all by myself, something I don't do very often. The whir of my bike wheels and the ticking of my gears got me into a meditative mode as I rode the nice, flat trail. The trees formed a canopy overhead, the leaves crunched under my wheels, my pace was fast, my spirits high and I realized I was on one of the best rides of my short biking career.  Then I started to wonder, what is a best ride? Is there such a thing as THE best ride? Like the very best that can't be topped? Or are there different kinds of "best" rides, like the fastest ride or the longest ride? Can the best ride be a whole month of rides, like I'm doing for 30 Days of Biking , rolled all together to create a best? Maybe the best ride is in an beautiful location, like Italy. Or maybe it involves riding a great race or setting a record. What makes a ride a best ride? I'm really not sure. But then I thought back to yesterday's ride, t
Read more