Introduce yourself

Tell Us About Yourself
Today's assignment: introduce yourself

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Yes, that was the assignment in my writing group this morning. I actually don't often follow the prompts suggested there, but hey, I sure do like to talk about myself - so why not?

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So hello there. I'm Kaye and I'm a writer.
I write. And I walk. And I wonder and I wander.

I have lived in Michigan pretty much all of my life - except for those four years in college just across the state line. And except for that year when we lived in the Dominican Republic 20-some years ago. Well, and now these last few months that we've been living on the road. Yes, we sold our Christmas tree farm and moved into our 29-foot fifth-wheel RV.

I never thought I'd see the day when I would leave Michigan. I couldn't have imagined letting go of that little chunk of property that had been in my family for three generations and that we shaped into a home and a retreat center where we raised our three girls and a whole bunch of other kids. Nor did I ever envision myself being a snow bird - I suppose because I have always loved winter. But here I am - willingly letting my hubby drag me to warmer climates where I can indulge my very favorite form of physical exercise, beach walking, pretty much every day. I had recently discovered that it's not safe for this aging body to do my daily walking on snow and ice so I didn't drag my feet very long about this change.

I have been a teacher and a learner and a mom and a mentor and a minister and a counselor and a consultant and a life coach. A couple of those roles have even generated income for me, but they have pretty much all brought me joy along with opportunities for stretching and growing.

In recent years I've discovered that I am also a writer. It was a struggle to get to the point where I could say that out loud. I had lots of fears about calling myself a writer and lots of questions about whether I really could be one. Long story short: I decided that I am a writer because I write. Or maybe I write because I'm a writer. Whatever.

I write about a wide variety of things - many of which are reflected on my blog.

The most basic and probably the most important step I've taken as a writer is to develop the habit of writing every day. Early on in this quest I discovered that most serious writers require themselves to write a certain number of words per day. Some suggest 300 words a day and some say 1000, but it seems that most recommend 500 words. I started my intentional daily habit with a goal of 300 words a day and quite soon bumped it up to 500 which I've done fairly regularly for many years now.

Once a year I participate in National Novel Writing Month and push myself to crank out 2000 words a day. After my latest time of writing that many words, I decided maybe I didn't want to drop back to only 500. Instead I've settled in at around 800 to 1000 words per day. And I like it. Yep, I discovered that I like myself when I am cranking out words. Now if only I'd figure out how to get more of them published. I guess it's a good thing that I don't normally use money as a measure of success!

Then again, I do publish quite a few of those words - on my blog as well as in a few other settings. My blog provides a spot to post some of my ramblings about things that I wonder about as well as the places we wander. My wonderings and my wanderings. I write about faith and my questions about faith. I write about grace. I write about fear and doubt. I write about simplicity. I write about wonder and awe. I am fascinated with people and culture and language and food and diversity and this amazing planet. I would like to write more about each of those. And so I keep writing.

And I keep walking.
And I keep wondering and wandering.
I hope I will continue to be filled with wonder.

So hey, how about you?
I often wonder who really reads my posts and wish I could get acquainted with you. I would LOVE it if you would take a minute to introduce yourself in the comments below.
Tell me something that you love or something that stirs you up.
Or tell me what you do or where you live.
Maybe tell me about your favorite role. The hat you get to wear that you love the most. Or the least.
Please...

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it:

Introduce yourself.