“Have you been writing?” Four words, and the answer a sheepish “not really.” Hence the post, a post that has no agenda, no theme, no direction. But for me the very act of writing brings me great joy, so why haven’t I been indulging? I could list my excuses here; maybe even provide you with a PowerPoint presentation on my busy schedule, daily routines, how I have to feed the cats and the birds, plan lessons, pack lunches, and do my taxes. Yes, these never-ending tasks take up large chunks of my day; I do have to grocery shop and exercise and wash the dishes. The dogs do need to go to playgroup. But I also spend a lot of time surfing the web, chatting on Facebook and procrastinating. So I sit here today and vow to give myself the gift of words today, directionless words, just because I am worthy of taking a few minutes away from tasks that will just need to be redone tomorrow. When I finish this post I will feel peace-filled. Maybe that is why I have been “forgetting”  to write. There could be a part of me that needs a little anxiety or upheaval just to shake things up a bit. Life seems smooth today, I am happy with the direction it is taking. I am surrounded by people whom I love. I am secure. I am even content with the  overabundance of short sentences in this post. So why haven’t I been writing really? My favorite word in Italian is “perché.” Not only do I love the sound of the word when it rolls off the tongue, but it has two meanings. When asked it means “why,” and when answering it means “because.” So today’s question. Why write? And the answer, because. It doesn’t matter that it has been a while, I dare not even look at the date of the last post. What matters is that today I am giving myself the gift of ten minutes. Ten minutes of the sound of the computer keys clicking away, and ten minutes of joy.