Well hello! It’s funny how this “reWirement” thing has been working out: months after I’d decided to call it a wrap on my radio career, a publisher comes to me out of the blue with an idea that I should write a book.
 
What they call the ARCs (Advanced Reader’s Copy) are now in the hands of people who are writing blurbs or the foreword; it’s an unproofed edition of the book that is the last step before actual final printing and distribution. I still can’t believe this is all happening and I’ll share more with you as the publication date approaches in five months and one week. Just let me tell you that this has been a journey I couldn’t have imagined taking, but one that has been incredible nonetheless. 
 
Oh, and for the record, I didn’t quit radio to write a book. Someone has mistakenly suggested that and I’m sorry to tell her that no one (save Bob Woodward or a few very famous authors) gets rich through writing. We were already planning our new life when this dropped into our laps. So there’s that.
 
Another unexpected perk has been business travel, which I am on today, probably as you are reading this! I fly from Victoria to Vancouver and then connect to Regina, where tonight I’ll be reuniting with author, broadcaster and marketing guru Terry O’Reilly and Dragons’ Den‘s Michele Romanow for another Canadian Real Estate Association evening. (The photo below is from a CREA event last fall.)
 

 
I’m excited about this for a few reasons: first, a reason to put on lashes and get on a plane (I will be fully clothed, too, for that matter) and to see Terry and Michele and the CREA family again during this emcee opportunity. But I’ve never been to Regina! I haven’t even set foot in Saskatchewan, for that matter, and I guess it’s about time.
 
I have a friend who’s contemplating a next step in a career that has been fruitful, but also, of late, especially difficult. Like so many businesses, hers has seen severe cutbacks, meaning that she has taken on the work of many, while still maintaining high standards and successful outcomes to her projects. It’s taking a huge toll on her and, as she ponders her future, I just keep hoping to prove an example that there are so many different adventures that can await you, if you take that leap and seek out a happier life. 
 
We’re getting to that age, many of us, where we stock up on as many condolence cards as we do birthday cards. It’s a fact of life that no one is guaranteed any tomorrows. Anyone who laments “don’t get old!” hasn’t stopped to think about the people who would have given anything to have a chance to do just that.
 
A favourite aunt (who’s turning 87 today, as a matter of fact) often says those words to me and when she does, all I think about is Lauren. I don’t mention her; my aunt’s memory is not what it used to be. But I feel the same about people who complain about getting older or having another birthday. Why is it human nature to do that? 
 
But I digress. My message to my friend is just to imagine how many doors will swing open and how many opportunities will present themselves when she just gets a chance to breathe, to look around and to see the possibilities she didn’t even notice were there. 
 
That’s what has happened with Rob and with me. I’m not sure where this ride is going to take us next, but I’m flying high – quite literally – with optimism for whatever is around the corner!
 
Talk to you here tomorrow. I’d better remember to set my watch ahead!