I can’t say I’ve always wanted to be a writer. 

But I can say there was no dodging the ideas and words that found their way, first, into the corners of my mind and then emerging as jots and scribbles on whatever was before me… a notebook, a journal, a sketch pad.

But what becomes of jots and scribbles?

When I returned to my first love of teaching, after the joy of being home with my son and daughter for sixteen years, the jots and scribbles descended to a neat pile in my basement where they quickly became silent and forgotten…

…until I retired from teaching much earlier than expected.

I found myself with the sudden freedom to create a new path, a new ‘something,’ and the jots and scribbles slowly came to mind.  After ten years of shifting and mingling with basement shelf treasures, the jots and scribbles weren’t exactly eager to be discovered, and I was about to abandon my basement search to look elsewhere…

 …when I spied a large, lone sketchbook under a dusty, bottom-shelf box.

Lifting the cover, my eyes immediately welled with tears as they landed on the early-morning prayers and meditations which, ten years prior, had gifted me strength and courage during tumultuous life changes. The words, adorned with simple sketches, took my breath away! I recalled how, in the dark of these mornings, the ideas for children’s books began to slip into my mind… a treasure of jots and scribbles. I would flip to the back of the sketch pad and quickly note the download of a thought, begging for a space to call its own.

There were more jots and scribbles than I remembered…

…houses made of leaves, puddingstones, fairies and magic, moss roses, treehouses, the importance of nature for children, and a list of what causes stress for children all loomed from the pages, each welcoming me back to the heart that shared them. Written at the top of that page of jots and scribbles was… ”IF YOU DON’T START…YOU WON’T ARRIVE.” 

And that was my cue.

Spirit Child?  No, the idea for it wasn’t on those pages.  It came in my meditations after I retired… and once I decided to START.  It came in as momentary flutters and fragments, words and elements dropping into the heart. Before too long, there were enough pieces to demand a title and then the joy of shifting the pieces to complete the puzzle. 

There is more to the story…

…and more stories to come, but that is for another day and the next book that wishes to step forward. The universe is full of magic and wonder and never fails to shower you with…

…jots and scribbles!