trasiesands.com

I found an old CD from when my son was 1 (about 9 years ago) that I had made in place of Xmas gifts for friends and family. We did not have much money back then. I’d spent countless hours creating a slide show of all the photos I’d taken of him in the year he’d been alive and set it to music. I was watching it and came across this picture.

I cannot believe how much he’s grown.

I didn’t notice the time going by, but the next thing I knew, he’s going on 10 and almost as tall as I am!

For a time, I lived in The Annex in Toronto. I found this community, right on the edge of the University of Toronto campus, to be one of the most exciting, vibrant communities I have ever experienced. I was paces from the subway, blocks from Bloor and all the fantastic shops, restaurant and bars it offered, and everything I could ever want was such a short distance away. It was downtown, but it was a very distinct community. This is something I will miss for the rest of my life.

I actually experienced a fair amount of culture shock when I left The Annex. I moved to the suburb of Mississauga which is where I had lived as a teenager and, most likely, went into that move with a predefined distaste for all things suburban.

Mississauga has its merits. One of its greatest attributes is that it was composed of several small communities including Streetsville and Port Credit, which is where I currently make my home. Because I often look to surround myself with history and age, Port Credit was an excellent choice.

But I do find myself desperately missing the city life and often unable to express what feels so different about it to me. It seems that those who have spent their life in the suburbs have a difficult time understanding what the draw is to city life. The very things they cannot stand are the things I love… the noise, the people, shop after shop, busy traffic… THE BUZZ.

It has been way too long since I put pen to paper. I actually mean that both literally and metaphorically. It was suggested to me that I try blogging. At that moment, I realized that with all the online social networking I’ve been involved with, I have never actually had my very own blog. I have belonged to online communities. I spent years with LiveJournal and its limitations and currently use Facebook, which has been tremendous for its nostalgiac quality and its ability to bring me back together with people I have not spoken to in years, but it’s very limited as well in a creative capacity.

Writing is what I used to do. I would spend hours simply writing thoughts, penning poems, constructing short stories. For one reason or another, it all stopped. It is mind-blowing how difficult it is to begin again.

So it’s time. To begin. Again.