Transitions always make me uncomfortable. A bridge is an image widely used to represent a period of transition. The Rainbow Bridge poem, is given to bereaved pet owners. What is it that makes the image so symbolic? I was walking on a foot bridge over the Housatonic the other day. On either side of me was river, the bridge swayed just the slightest amount with each step. There was nothing to keep me from falling except for a cable railing that was strong, but not solid. When I was trying to figure out why I have such a hard time with change later that night I kept thinking about the railing. Maybe THAT is God, or Grace. It is there to guide me across the expanse or change, but if I choose to slip between the slots I will fall. So it is part me, part God that keeps me walking forward. The time it took to cross the bridge was not long, 30 seconds or so, and I could have stopped in the center and thought of ways that I was scared, (the river is too far down, I am scared of heights). But I didn’t. It was automatic to continue the cross to the waiting trail head on the other side and my climb up to Laura’s Tower. Maybe when I am struggling with a shift in schedule I can remember that bridge, take one step at a time, feel the presence around me that keeps me moving forward and know that if I just keep walking, I will make it to the other side.
● About Me
I wrote and published my first blog post on May 26, 2009. I was about to turn 36 and had been accepted to Mount Holyoke College as a non-traditional student, on my way to completing a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Medieval Studies. I had managed, finally, to know what general direction I was traveling. As a self proclaimed voracious reader I knew that I needed a vocation that would allow me to engage daily with words: reading words, writing words, and hearing words. I also needed to eat, so I navigated my way to a teaching position and I began to fine tune my craft. I love to teach and I love my students, but I also needed to continue to hone my own literary technique, voice, and style. I continued my education in order to delve deeper into literature, making connections, and most definitely, writing. I gained more confidence as a reader as well as a writer of both creative and analytical text. That first blog post in 2009 is short, the writing average, and the topic mundane, but as I continued to learn from other writers I began to understand that to become a better writer I needed to write more. Each time I write and release a poem, a post, or a story, I hone my skills. I invite you along for the ride, for this journey of mine as I attempt to wrangle a wealth of ideas and competing directions into an organized freshly paved path to publication. I might get distracted along the way, but sometimes those detours lead us to amazing views and new friends.
Laura Smith Writer 
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